Florida man says a fecal transplant cured him of a life-threatening infection
January 22, 2019
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 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.