Gilbert Gastroenterologist's Procedure Showcased On CBS Channel 5 Phoenix, AZ News Feature

GILBERT, AZ, March 22, 2013 (Press-News.org) Gilbert, AZ gastroenterologist, Dr. Andrew Weinberg, has been performing a relatively new but potentially life- saving procedure on some of his patients, and one case was recently featured on CBS channel 5 news in Phoenix.

The unusual procedure, which has been slowly gaining popularity by gastroenterologists in the Mesa area and beyond, is known as Fecal Microbiota Transplantation-or simply-Stool Transplant.

For their feature story CBS Channel 5 in Phoenix interviewed Ellen Christensen, a Mesa resident and patient at Dr. Weinberg's gastroenterology office in Gilbert AZ. Ms. Christensen had been suffering from debilitating diarrhea for over a year after antibiotic treatment for an abscessed tooth. She was eventually diagnosed with a serious infection of Clostridium Difficile, otherwise known as C-diff. C-diff is a pathogen and is NOT one of the bacteria types that normally live in the colon. If a person has acquired C-diff it may be kept in check by other "good bacteria". Antibiotics can sometimes wipe out so much of the good bacteria that C-diff begins to multiply rapidly, causing abdominal pain and diarrhea that can persist chronically.

Although gastroenterologists first performed Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in the late 1950's, it was used rarely and there were few clinical studies on its effectiveness. Patients with persistent C-diff infections that didn't respond to the usual treatment of antibiotics suffered greatly, and sometimes died from the devastating effects of the toxic bacteria. But as newer studies consistently confirmed a success rate of about 90%, the procedure is slowly gaining acceptance and being performed by top gastroenterologists like Dr. Weinberg, Mesa gastroenterologist.

As the CBS 5 story reports, once Ellen Christensen agreed to the procedure she knew she wanted a family member to provide the donor sample, and her brother Ron Jones was happy to step up to help his older sibling, whom he had shared a close bond with since childhood. Fecal transplant patients often prefer family donors because of sensitive nature of the procedure, but the stool does not have to come from a blood relative.

Once the donor stool is collected, it is mixed with saline solution and filtered. It is then loaded into syringes, which are attached to a colonscope and infused into the colon of the patient. The relief is often dramatic, as was the case with Ellen Christensen who eventually fully recovered from her C-Diff infection after her Fecal Transplant procedures in 2012.

Dr. Weinberg, Mesa, AZ gastroenterologist, commended CBS 5 Phoenix for spotlighting this procedure in their news story, saying, "Fecal Transplant is a unique procedure with benefits that can be very dramatic and beneficial to patients". The full story can be accessed on his website at www.weinberggi.com.

About Weinberg Gastrointestinal: Dr. Andrew Weinberg, gastroenterologist in Mesa, AZ, opened Weinberg Gastrointestinal in January of 2012, emphasizing complete compassionate care. At Weinberg Gastrointestinal, Dr. Weinberg's priority is to deliver quality care to informed patients in a comfortable setting for abdominal pain, colonoscopy and heartburn in Mesa, among others. Dr. Weinberg received his D.O. from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, PA. He also completed his Gastroenterology Fellowship at University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. Before opening Weinberg Gastrointestinal, Dr. Weinberg practiced at Central Arizona Medical Associates, a community multi-specialty based practice in Mesa, AZ.

Media Contact:
Dr. Andrew Weinberg
contactus@weinberggi.com
4915 E. Baseline Road, Suite 126
Gilbert, AZ 85234
(480) 745-3690
http://www.weinberggi.com