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Roadhouse the sea turtle to be released in Brevard County after rehab, tumor removal

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — After spending nearly a year at the Brevard Zoo’s Sea Turtle Healing Center, Roadhouse the green sea turtle is set to return to the ocean on Wednesday.

Roadhouse is set to be released rain or shine at James H. Nance Park in Indialantic at 10 a.m. The public is invited to attend.

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Zoo officials said Roadhouse’s recovery was thanks to an innovative new treatment for fibropapillomatosis, which is a debilitating disease with no cure that causes external and internal tumors to grow all over a turtle’s body.

Watch: Opal the sea turtle returns to the ocean after 7-month rehab stay at Brevard Zoo

The healing center’s veterinarian team treated Roadhouse’s tumors with electrochemotherapy, which causes the tumors to shrink and fall off.

Officials said the ECT machine was funded by a grant awarded from the Sea Turtle Grants Program, which is funded from proceeds from the sale of the Florida Sea Turtle License Plate.

Photos: Opal the sea turtle returns to the ocean after 7-month rehab stay at Brevard Zoo

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Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.

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