WSVN — A Florida woman was so sick she could barely leave the house. Local doctors say they have the cure, but that has some stomachs turning. 7's Lynn Martinez shows us how this "Bizarre Breakthrough" is giving people their lives back.
Like most moms, Dierdre spends her days chasing after her 2-and-a-half-year-old son. But after taking an antiobiotic for a sinus infection, she was hit by intense stomach cramping and diarrhea.
Dierdre Eckian: "It got so bad that I was probably going to the bathroom like 12 to 15 times a day."
Dierdre had a disease called Clostridium difficile, or C. diff. It's essentially a bacterial infection in the colon, and most people get it as a side effect of antibiotics.
Dierdre Eckian: "Probably the eighth day into the course, I started having diarrhea, running a fever."
C. diff is usually treated with a different antibiotic, but in some cases, it just doesn't work.
Dierdre Eckian: "The C. diff always came back."
Patients like Dierdre can get their lives back if they can stomach a new treatment. It's called a fecal transplant.
And yes, you heard right.
Dr. Lawrence Fiedler: "You take healthy stool that has a normal gut diversity to it, and you inject that stool into the intestine."
Gastroenterologist Lawrence Fiedler says that fecal transplants can work miracles by restoring the good bacteria to the digestive system.
Dierdre Eckian: "Of course, you think, 'Oh, that sounds kinda gross, like, you know, what is that?'"
But Deirdre started researching the idea and realized it might be her only hope.
Dierdre Eckian: "I was very desperate to get better."
Dr. Lawrence Fiedler: "The first step is getting stool from a donor."
Dr. Fiedler says patients can ask someone they know to donate or get a sample from a special lab.
Dr. Lawrence Fiedler: "There are banks, stool banks, much like a blood bank, and they process, freeze and ship stool to hospitals where we do fecal transplants."
Highly-trained technicians at Boca Raton Regional Hospital then process that stool and deliver them to Dr. Fiedler.
Dr. Lawrence Fiedler: "And I inject the filtered processed stool into the colonoscope, into the patient's colon."
The procedure is very similar to a colonoscopy. Some feel the results instantly!
For Dierdre, it took four days to feel like herself again.
Dierdre Eckian: "It's a miracle; it's amazing."
Researchers are currently studying fecal transplants for other common stomach problems.
Dr. Lawrence Fiedler: "Such as inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, irritable bowel, of course."
Dr. Feidler says it is not a miracle cure, but this bizarre breakthrough is pretty amazing.
Dr. Lawrence Fiedler: "And literally, be able to watch them over a number of days, watch their life change for the better, I mean, it's one of the most gratifying things I've ever been part of as a physician. It's incredible."
Lynn Martinez: "They are also studying using frozen capsules full of fecal matter, which patients can take orally instead of having to undergo anesthesia for the transplant in the colon. In the Plex, Lynn Martinez, 7News."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Digestive Disease Institute
A Subsidiary of Digestive CARE
2300 Glades Road, Suite 201E
East Tower
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Tel: (561) 208-2121
www.digestivecareonline.com