BeauHD, a Slashdot moderator, has Crohn's Disease, and he lives in an age of modern miracles, which means that he can have his small intestine surveyed by swallowing a tiny pill-sized camera, rather than having a scope threaded up his rectum or down his throat, or having his gut sliced open.
In more 99% of cases, people who swallow pillcams poop them out harmlessly. BeauHD is in the one percent of people whose pillcams get stuck — in his case, the cam is stuck in the inflamed tissue of his small intestine.
It's been there for more than 12 weeks. After a double-balloon endoscopy, doctors were able to locate the pillcam, but despite extensive steroid treatments to relieve the inflammation and free the cam, it's firmly stuck, 15 feet down his digestive track. They're going in again with a esophageal scope, and hoping that will do the trick.
As BeauHD says, it's a little-told story of modern cyborg woes.
I am sharing this story with the Slashdot community for two reasons. First, those entrenched in the world of cyborgs and/or modern-day medical procedures may find this experience particularly interesting. Second, the more people who know about the procedures and complications of Crohn's Disease the better. For those interested, I'll update this post after the next procedure. Have you or someone you know experienced a capsule endoscopy? Please share what you feel comfortable with.
Man Reports PillCam Stuck In His Gut For Over 12 Weeks [BeauHD/Slashdot]
(Image: Medtronic)
