Patients Have New Choice for Colonoscopy Prep

Danbury Hospital became the first hospital in Connecticut to offer colon hydrotherapy, a warm water infusion, as an alternative method to cleanse the bowel to prepare for a colonoscopy. Colon hydrotherapy is more convenient, quicker, and eliminates having to drink a gallon of liquid laxatives the night before.

"Patients now have a choice," said Joseph Fiorito, M.D., chief of the Section of Gastroenterology. The innovative new method is called colon hydrotherapy, a procedure that infuses warm, filtered, chemical-free water into the colon to cleanse it prior to colonoscopy.

A trained technician provides hydrotherapy in a private room in a soothing atmosphere with little discomfort to patients. Patients lie on a stretcher for the 45-minute procedure that flushes water in and out of the colon.

With colon hydrotherapy, patients avoid the inconvenience and often messy preparation of drinking laxatives prior to the procedure. "Some people find the palatability of the liquid unacceptable," said Dr. Fiorito. "Many people can't tolerate drinking the gallon of liquid laxatives required the night before a colonoscopy to cleanse their colon. Colon hydrotherapy is also much more convenient," he added. "People don't have to worry about having to miss work, not eat for 24 hours and stay up all night because of diarrhea."

This procedure is especially beneficial for the elderly who sometimes can't tolerate the volume of liquid that they need to drink, along with feeling side effects from the laxatives. The elderly are also more prone to electrolyte abnormalities and kidney damage from the laxative cleansing process.