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Friday 17 June 2022

An Evesham dad who was facing the prospect of a five to six month stay in hospital after suffering a perforated bowel has gone home to his wife and two young children after six weeks thanks to becoming one of just 40 patients in the country to receive an innovative, life changing medical device to manage his condition.

Daniel Waters, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease – a type of inflammatory bowel disease – when he was 19, was brought to Worcestershire Royal Hospital by ambulance in the early hours of Friday, April 29 after waking up suffering extreme abdominal pain.

A CT scan confirmed that the 33-year-old had suffered a perforated bowel. He underwent emergency surgery where nearly a foot of damaged small intestine had to be removed and a stoma (an opening on the abdomen connected the digestive system) had to be created to allow waste to be diverted out of his body.

However, despite making excellent progress in Intensive Care, it soon became apparent that Daniel’s remaining bowel was not absorbing enough nutrients. Unable to eat or drink, he was instead being fed a liquid nutrient diet 24 hours a day via a method of feeding that bypasses the digestive system, but despite this he was losing nearly three litres of waste a day and his weight dropped by an alarming 9kg (19lbs).

At this point the outlook for Daniel – who up until his hospital admission was working in a physically demanding warehousing job for a yoga and pilates firm – was looking bleak, with the prospect of staying in hospital for a further four months or more on a cocktail of more than 160 tablets a day, and a restricted one litre a day liquid diet until his strength could be built up sufficiently for him to undergo a further operation to re-join the two ends of his bowel and reverse his stoma.

With two small children aged five and six months old at home desperately missing their dad who had been in hospital for five weeks already at this point, it was a scenario that Daniel and his medical team were keen to avoid if at all possible.

It was at this point that Miss Pamela Sivathondan, Consultant Bowel and IBD Surgeon at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, spoke to a peer and expert in bowel disease and was informed about ‘The Insides System’ – a medical device that enables the intestinal losses from the stoma to be reinfused into the intestine. If it was suitable, this would allow Daniel to start eating and drinking normally again and mean he could manage his condition easily at home himself until he could undergo his next surgery. 

Miss Sivathondan said: “The Insides System has only been used in around 40 patients across the UK and approximately 150 worldwide, so it was an innovative solution and it was a bit of a pipe dream. However, it was clear that if we could get it and it worked, it would dramatically change Daniel’s quality of life over the coming months as he would be able to go home and live a relatively normal life, managing his condition himself instead of being in a hospital bed for several more months.

“The entire team at the hospital pulled out all the stops, working in true collaboration and in line with our mission to ‘put patients first’. Within one week we had ordered the device, had it delivered, received the training and Daniel had been fitted with it. Remarkably, members of the team from The Insides Company who have developed The Insides System have also flown to Worcester from New Zealand to share their expertise with Daniel and the team.”

Daniel was able to go home on Wednesday, June 15 – just one week after being fitted with the device.

Daniel said: “My journey over the past few weeks has been a rollercoaster but Miss Sivathondan and the rest of the team at the hospital who have been looking after me have been absolutely amazing.

“They have gone out of their way and wouldn’t stop until they got me right. The prospect of spending months in hospital without being able to eat or drink, or be at home with my family, was not a nice one. My five-year-old daughter Pixie has repeatedly asked ‘when are you coming home’ so to be able to leave just one week after having this innovative device fitted is amazing, and I can’t wait to go home to her, my wife Natalie and my six-month-old son Kitt. The first thing Pixie wants to do is play tag though, so she might have to be a little more patient for that!”

Since being fitted with The Insides System Daniel has been able to come off all medication and the liquid feed and he is already eating and drinking small amounts.

Moving forward Daniel will require monthly visits to hospital to maintain the device, and will receive home visits by the community Stoma Nurses to check how he is. When he is fit enough, he will return to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for his follow up operation and is looking forward to being Crohn’s free by the end of the year.  

In the meantime, Daniel said he is most looking forward to a haircut and going to the pub to enjoy what he has been craving – an ice cold glass of Coke (or a beer if he is allowed) and a burger and chips!

The Insides System is distributed in the UK by GBUK Enteral