Hospitals Switch to New Choice for Colonoscopy Prep

DANBURY, Conn.—A handful of hospitals nationwide are offering colon hydrotherapy, a new alternative bowel prep that is more convenient, quicker and eliminates the need to drink a gallon of liquid laxatives the night before a colonoscopy, according to Danbury Hospital.

The procedure infuses warm, filtered, chemical-free water into the colon to cleanse it prior to colonoscopy. The infusion is done by a trained technician in a private room at the spa, in a "soothing" atmosphere with little discomfort to the patients. Patients lie on a table on their backs and sides for the 45-minute procedure that flushes water in and out of the colon prior to colonoscopy.

“Some people find the palatability of the liquid unacceptable,” said Joseph Fiorito, MD, chief of the Section of Gastroenterology at Danbury Hospital. “Many people can’t tolerate drinking the gallon of liquid laxatives required the night before a colonoscopy to cleanse their colon.”

Source: Danbury Hospital