Terrell Owens Undergoes Stem Cell Surgery On-Camera

Former NFL wide receiver and Dancing with the Stars contestant Terrell Owens went under for a stem cell treatment to help repair his aging joints, and he invited a camera crew along for the ride.

Owens underwent the optional surgery at the Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute. He brought along a reporter from TMZ, who filmed the sports icon preparing for surgery. Owens explained for the people at home what stem cell treatment can do and why he was undergoing it.

"I'm doing the bone marrow stem-cell procedure," Owens told the reporter. "What it is is like, a regenerative procedure. I mean, if anybody knows anything about new age technology -- not really technology, but overall health, optimal health, it's a way to just really kind of prolong, you know, life."

The reporter asked if Owens was preparing for some sort of comeback with the procedure, but he laughed it off. "No, no, it's just overall — I mean, there's nothing illegal about this. Again, if anybody knows anything about stem cells, obviously the bone marrow contains a lot of cells. Obviously, they keep your bones dense, and strong, and healthy. So that's what they're extracting."

The reporter confirmed that Owens was going into surgery for no other reason than staying healthy in the long term. "Yeah, just staying in good health," Owens said. "You know, I've always to stay on top of my nutrition, even when I played. I stayed on top of new age, cutting edge, technology, just to stay above and ahead of the game. So this is part of that process."

The outlet also released a gruesome video of Owens under the knife, but warning: it is definitely not for the squeamish. It shows doctors extracting stem cells from Owens' hip bone and injecting them into damaged areas of the body. In Owens' case, after a long career in pro football, that is a lot.

"I'm utilizing regenerative cells to regenerate and repair joints, tendons, and ligaments," said Owens' doctor, Dr. Raj. "It's minimally invasive. In T.O.'s case, he damaged himself from years and years of football. He had both knees, both shoulders, both elbows (triceps tendonitis) and right hip done."

Owens insisted that the procedure has nothing to do with a sports comeback, though admittedly, any part of life is easier without joint pain and tendonitis.