StemCell Therapy

HOUSTON -

Pandu, the 286-pound Malayan tiger stretched out on the gurney in the Houston Zoo's hospital, had bone chips big ones in his right elbow.

Ivy the leopard, being prepped in another room, also needed medical treatment for her limp. The zoo's 68-pound black cat, which had arthroscopic surgery in 2009, was showing signs of pain again in her elbows.

The zoo staff was worried.

"I imagine we are going to end up euthanizing her at some point if it can't be fixed," said Beth Schaefer, the zoo's curator of carnivores and primates.

With two big cats needing attention, surgeon Brian Beale of Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists and stem-cell specialists at InGeneron Inc. donated their services to treat the animals. While Beale removed bone chips and cleaned the joints during arthroscopic surgery, InGeneron staffers produced stem cells from each animal's body fat.

When the surgeries were complete, Beale injected the stem cells, which had taken about two hours to process for each big cat, into the animals' joints to promote faster healing.

Pandu, always a big baby looking for attention, was moving a bit slowly the day after surgery.

Feisty Ivy pretended nothing was wrong.

A week after the surgery, Houston Zoo veterinarian Lauren Howard says neither animal has suffered complications. Pandu, with mild swelling, was released into his exhibit half-days on Monday.

Read more:
Stem cells help some ailing Houston Zoo creatures

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