A Bionic Bottom - Remote controlled excretion

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David

David

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This is a few years old but I thought it was fascinating and might even be applicable to someone here.
Ged Galvin, 55, now presses a remote control to open his bowels and go to the toilet.

The IT project manager from Barnsley, south Yorkshire, almost died when an off-duty police officer pulled out in front of him in her car.

Mr Galvin suffered massive internal injuries and had to be fitted with a colostomy bag until surgeons at the Royal London Hospital could perform the complex operation to rebuild his bottom.

The medical team took a muscle from above his knee, wrapped it around his sphincter, and then attached electrodes to the nerves.

These are now operated by a palm-sized remote control that he carries in his pocket.

“It’s like a chubby little mobile phone,” he said. “You switch it on and off, just like switching on the TV.

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Years ago I had a dream I had a button that I pressed to make me go. This is very interesting!
 
A friend of mine just made a joke to me yesterday about wanting a bionic bottom. I'll have to share this with her :biggrin:
 
this seems like a great idea. i wonder why we crohnies don't hear more about it in Britain. Mind, i still have half my bowel, and thankfully its usually unstrictured. its the mouth down to the last part of small intestine, not that i have much ileum left.
 
Well, there are leads that are implanted near the base of your spine which emit small electric currents to the sacral nerves that affect the sphincter muscles. I have UC, had a colectomy with a JPouch, so now only have a small intestine with a pouch ~ and chronic persistent diarrhea accompianied by fecal incontinence. I may have never known that my sphincter muscles were weak, but given my new plumbing set-up it is miserable. I am told that they have been using this technology with bladder control patients for 20 years, and it was just approved for bowel control problems this past January. Doctors are not sure exactly why the nerve stimulation works, but they have an 80% success rate and I am ever hopeful. I'm not sure what else can be done about the loose stool, but if I can get the frequency down (now at 15-20x per day) that will make a big difference in my life. Medtronic.com is the company that produces the device if anyone is interested in more info. And of course, I will let you know how it goes!
 
thanks christine,

wonderful news. I can identify with all those bowel motions. I've had loads of small intestine removed and half my large. I get a bit sick of my life revolving around sickness and diarrhoea, not to mention the pain, the ill feeling from the meds etc. thanks so much for that info. I hope something wonderful comes your way soon.
 
I have tried Metamucil and Citrucel both, and with negative results. Both had me going more frequently, so I discontinued using them.
 
Hello All. I wanted to send out an update on the Sacral Nerve stimulator surgery I had a few weeks ago. David, this even might be appropriate in a separate thread ~ let me know if you'd like me to do that. On Dec 4 I had the "interstim" by medtronic implanted in my lower back near my sacral nerves. Whether from the colectomy or the four pregnancy/deliveries, I had almost no sacral nerve action. Basically my brain was telling me I was "holding it in" and there was no connection to my sacral nerves (and consequently my sphincter muscles). So, the loose stools that come when one has no colon were not being held in ~ the JPouch was healed and operational, it was a separate problem.

The surgeon implanted leads on Dec 4 connected to a temporary external device that was like a pager. I wore that for two weeks as a test. If your symptoms decrease by 50% then you are a candidate for a permanent implant. I noticed relief right away in the recovery area. The surgery was sedation, and not general anesthesia, so recovery was relatively easy. I had the permanent implant put in on Dec 18, and it is even better than the temporary device! I still have loose stools, but the frequency has decreased and the crazy urgency is gone. I have even had a few nights where I slept for a 6-7 hour stretch without getting up to go. I am finally hopeful that I am actually going to be able to get some of my life back.

So now I am experimenting with getting the loose stools firmed up. I added metamucil again, once a day, and that seemed to help a bit. I think if that can be tackled a bit more then I will be very satisfied with the outcome.

The Interstim therapy device from Medtronic has been around for 20 years for treating urinary incontinence/frequency issues for people who haven't responded to other therapies and has only been approved for fecal incontinence since January 2012 ~ guess that makes me a lucky chick ;-). I must be feeling better if I can kid about it again.

Happy to answer any questions and wish everyone a happy, healthy and blessed 2013!!
 
Wow! That's amazing :) I'm excited for you.

If you'd like to start a thread dedicated to your journey and continue to update it over time, we'd absolutely love for you to!
 
Christine, that is amazing. I'm so pleased for you. I agree with David, a separate thread with updates would be good. This surgery could add a lot of hope to many sufferers. Good luck with it.
 
This is amazing, I would love if you started a new thread explaining more and keeping up with updates. So happy to hear that you are headed to a new life!
 

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