Tweet
British Man Has 'Bionic Bottom'
Remote Control Helps Man Use Bowels After Motorcycle Accident
By KI MAE HEUSSNER
Ged Galvin keeps a cell phone-sized remote control in his pocket at all times.
Ged Galvin, sustained life-threatening injuries in a motorcyle accident two years ago. Now he has a "bionic bottom" operated by remote control.
But it doesn't power his TV or DVD player. It helps him control his bowels.
In a devastating motorcycle accident two years ago, the 55-year-old from South Yorkshire, England, suffered major internal injuries. Though doctors initially thought he might not live, they miraculously restored broken wrists, a shattered leg, a fractured pelvic bone, a detached retina and more.
To Galvin's dismay, however, they couldn't repair the muscles in his bottom responsible for controlling bowel movements. He underwent a colostomy -- a procedure that allows patients to pass fecal matter through an opening in the abdomen, instead of the rectum, but he said he dreaded living forever with a colostomy bag outside his body.
But an innovative medical technique that allows him to defecate normally, with a pacemaker-like device and remote control, he said, has given him a new lease on life.
"I've been through immense pain and suffering," Galvin said. "And here I am with this bionic bottom now. I feel great. I feel fantastic."
Remote Control Helps Man Use Bowels After Motorcycle Accident
By KI MAE HEUSSNER
Ged Galvin keeps a cell phone-sized remote control in his pocket at all times.
Ged Galvin, sustained life-threatening injuries in a motorcyle accident two years ago. Now he has a "bionic bottom" operated by remote control.
But it doesn't power his TV or DVD player. It helps him control his bowels.
In a devastating motorcycle accident two years ago, the 55-year-old from South Yorkshire, England, suffered major internal injuries. Though doctors initially thought he might not live, they miraculously restored broken wrists, a shattered leg, a fractured pelvic bone, a detached retina and more.
To Galvin's dismay, however, they couldn't repair the muscles in his bottom responsible for controlling bowel movements. He underwent a colostomy -- a procedure that allows patients to pass fecal matter through an opening in the abdomen, instead of the rectum, but he said he dreaded living forever with a colostomy bag outside his body.
But an innovative medical technique that allows him to defecate normally, with a pacemaker-like device and remote control, he said, has given him a new lease on life.
"I've been through immense pain and suffering," Galvin said. "And here I am with this bionic bottom now. I feel great. I feel fantastic."