Father sews teenage son's buttocks shut with needle and thread in bizarre attempt to cure his Crohn’s Disease



DIY surgery led to a serious infection

Randy Swopes escaped jail by taking a plea deal



A father used a needle and thread to sew his son's buttocks shut in a bizarre attempt to cure his Crohn's Disease.



Randy Swopes, 52, decided to try the radical DIY surgery after the 14-year-old developed a cavity in his bottom as a result of the illness.



But his efforts led to the wound becoming infected and the teenager was hospitalised for almost a month.

Extreme solution: Rather than take his son to hospital, Randy Swopes attempted DIY surgery on the boy at his home in Waukegan, Illinois

Inconceivable: Swopes avoided jail after using a needle and thread to sew up the fistula - or cavity - connecting his son's skin and rectum

Swopes, from Waukegan, Illinois, was charged with aggravated battery, but took a plea deal that kept him out of prison, according to the Lake County New-Sun .

He could have spent two to five years in jail, had he been convicted of the offence.



CROHN'S DISEASE IN BRIEF

Crohn’s Disease is a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive system.

Inflammation can affect any part of the digestive system, but most commonly occurs in the last section of the small intestine or the large intestine.

Common symptoms include diarrhoea , abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss .

Over time, inflammation can damage sections of the digestive system, resulting in complications, such as narrowing of the colon.

There is no cure for the disease, but medication can reduce symptoms.

Around 60-75 per cent of people with Crohn’s disease need surgery to relieve symptoms, repair damage to their digestive system and treat related complications.

Crohn’s Disease is a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the digestive system, in which the body’s immune system destroys healthy tissue.



It can lead to a variety of symptoms, including fevers, stomach pain and complications included bowel obstruction.

As a result of the unpleasant disease, the 14-year-old boy had developed a fistula.

This affects around 25 per cent of people who have Crohn's, and is an abnormal channel that forms between the rectum and nearby skin - for example, on the buttock.

Depending on the severity of the fistula, proper treatment may involve a combination of antibiotics and surgery to drain the abscess.

Swopes took an Alford plea at court on Friday, which admits that there is enough evidence to convict but is not a direct admission of guilt, said Assistant State’s Attorney Danielle Pascucci.

