A Florida man says a fecal transplant helped save his life after he contracted an infection following a standard operation.
Douglas Lee, from Hillsborough, had his wisdom teeth removed a few years ago and was given antibiotics after the extraction to reduce the risk of a painful infection where the tooth had been.
However, the antibiotics he was given to treat it didn't just kill off the bad bacteria in his body, but also the good bacteria - leaving him with a life-threatening gastrointestinal infection.
When no medications worked, his doctors suggested an unusual form of treatment: a fecal transplant.
Transferring a fecal sample from a healthy donor into Lee, his doctors told him, would replenish his gut with healthy bacteria and help him fight off the infection.
Within a week of the procedure, Lee said he was feeling better and, within a couple of weeks, he says his infection was gone.
Douglas Lee (pictured), from Hillsborough, Florida, developed an infection after getting his wisdom teeth extracted a few years ago
C difficile, or C Diff, is a bacterium that causes life-threatening diarrhea and colon inflammation. It usually results from taking antibiotics that kill off beneficial bacteria as well as harmful bacteria. Pictured: Lee's colon before the fecal transplant, left, and after, right
'I was so sick my whole life changed,' Lee told News 13. 'I couldn't work a full week. I was weak all the time. I thought I was going to die.'
He was diagnosed with an infection from C difficile, or C Diff, a bacterium that causes life-threatening diarrhea and colon inflammation.
These infections usually develop after taking antibiotics that kill off beneficial bacteria as well as harmful bacteria.
Symptoms include at least three watery bowel movements per day, nausea, fever and stomach pain.
Fecal transplantation is the transfer of stool from a healthy donor into the gastrointestinal tract of a patient.
It is most commonly used to treat recurring C. difficile infection - spread by bacterial spores found within feces.
It can also be used to treat gastrointestinal infections such as colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and constipation.
Antibiotics often kill off too many 'good' bacteria in the digestive tract. Fecal transplants can help replenish bacterial balance.
The stool contains roughly 1,000 different species of bacteria
