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Discoblog
« NCBI ROFL: Opera makes me want to kill myself.
Heart-Stopping Cinematic Excitement: Guess How Much Fat Is in Movie Popcorn? »

So Long, Colostomy Bag: British Man Gets Remote-Controlled Sphincter

Ged220Briton Ged Galvin survived that vicious car wreck that nearly took his life. Unfortunately, the accident crushed some of his organs and left him needing a colostomy bag to go to the bathroom.

That was until his doctors created his cyborg sphincter. Yes, you read that correctly. Doctors removed muscle from above Galvin’s knee, wrapped it around his damaged sphincter, and attached electrodes to the nerves. Now, when Galvin goes to the bathroom he simply presses a button on a remote control.

From The Telegraph:

Mr Galvin, who had previously endured the indignity of carrying a colostomy bag, added: “I thought that in these days of modern medicine surely there was something they could do. They’d mended everything else – why not this? Anything was better than a colostomy bag.

“The operation changed my life and gave me back my pride and confidence. Because of the remote control I can lead a normal life again.”

Outstanding. Though hopefully Galvin’s remote has a lock that prevents him from accidentally triggering it while it’s in his pocket.

Related Content:
Discoblog: The 10 Most World-Changingest Ideas in the World
Discoblog: One Small Step Closer to Superhuman Cyborg Vision
Discoblog: Cyborg Bugs! Researcher Controls Beetles with Radio Antenna

Image: Anna Lythgoe/SWNS.COM

Share

November 19th, 2009 4:15 PM Tags: biomechanics, cyborg, medicine
by Andrew Moseman in Diseases, Injuries, & Other Ailments, Scat-egory, Technology Attacks! | 2 comments | RSS feed | Trackback >

  • Chris TMC

    My grandmother had to have a colostomy and I know how much it bothered her. This type of an advance is wonderful to hear, I only wish that she was still with us to utilize it.

  • CW

    “Cyborg Sphincter” sounds like the weapon used by the arch villain, Dr. Monty Zumasrevenge.





    • About the Blog

      Discoblog is DISCOVER's compendium of quirky, funny, and surprising science news from the edge of the known universe. It's written by Veronique Greenwood and Valerie Ross. Email tips and suggestions to vgreenwood [at] discovermagazine [dot] com.

      Discoblog also includes the daily feature NCBI ROFL, in which two prone-to-distraction grad students post real scientific articles with funny subjects. Email your tips to ncbirofl [at] gmail.com. Follow the ROFL feed here.

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