Brevard Zoo Bear ‘Brody’ Undergoes Second Round of Stem-Cell Therapy on Hip Joints

Shots administered by Dr. Jeffrey Christiansen of Superior Veterinary Surgical Solutions

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – “Brody,” Brevard Zoo’s black bear, was brought to the L3Harris Animal Care Center recently for his second round of stem-cell therapy.

Injections containing about five million stem cells each were delivered to his hip joints, and an additional injection was delivered intravenously.

The shots were administered by Dr. Jeffrey Christiansen of Superior Veterinary Surgical Solutions, who performed Brody’s hip surgery last July.

During this procedure, Dr. Christiansen collected a small amount of Brody’s fat and sent it to a veterinary laboratory that used this sample to produce 16 doses of stem-cell therapy.

After the procedure, Brody was returned to his habitat and recovered from the anesthesia without issue.

This treatment should alleviate some of the pain Brody is experiencing—hopefully reducing the severity of his limp—but we won’t see results for a few days or weeks.

“Our veterinarians are working on getting Brody an MRI scan and spinal tap, which could yield a more definitive diagnosis—especially if Brody’s issues are neurological in nature,” said Brevard Zoo officials.

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