It empties into the rectum, where waste collects as bowel movements. The rectum empties into the anus, where bowel movements leave the body. Your doctor places a thin, lighted tube through your anus and rectum up into the colon. Before the procedure, you get a sedative and pain medication to make you more comfortable. The colonoscopy tube has a small camera on it. It shows your doctor images of the inside of your colon as the tube moves through. The doctor can also take a small sample of tissue through the tube to examine later.
Getting this type of sample is part of a test called a biopsy. A doctor called a gastroenterologist, or GI doctor, usually does a colonoscopy. This type of doctor specializes in the digestive system. A surgeon may also do the procedure. Your team will also include a nurse and possibly an anesthesia specialist. You will probably have your colonoscopy at a doctor's office or hospital. Getting ready is important, because your colon needs to be as clean as possible.
This will allow the doctor to see the colon well. So when you schedule your colonoscopy, you will get detailed instructions on how to prepare. Tell your doctor about all the medications you take, including any vitamins, herbs, or supplements. Be sure to ask if you should take them on the day of the test. If you take a blood thinner or daily aspirin, you might need to stop several days before the procedure.
You will need to avoid solid food for 1 to 3 days before the procedure. You may drink clear liquids up to a certain time. These may include fat-free bouillon or broth, black coffee, strained fruit juice, or gelatin. You will need to take a laxative or give yourself an enema at a certain time before the colonoscopy. Your doctor's office will tell you what to use. The laxative is a pill or a powder you mix with water before drinking. A laxative speeds up the process of waste leaving your colon and it will make you have more bowel movements than usual.
Check your insurance coverage. Make sure it covers the medical center where you will have the test, the doctor who will do the colonoscopy, and the anesthesia doctor who will give you the sedative. But some polyps—known as adenomas— may eventually turn into cancer. Health care providers can spot and remove polyps during a colonoscopy, which uses a flexible, lighted tube to examine the colon and rectum.
So most people need the exam just once a decade, and only a few with larger, more serious polyps may need it more often than every five years. Colonoscopy is a safe procedure. But occasionally it can cause heavy bleeding, tears in the colon, inflammation or infection of pouches in the colon known as diverticulitis, severe abdominal pain, and problems in people with heart or blood- vessel disease.
Some complications can lead to blood transfusions, surgery, hospitalization, or rarely, death. The test also has inconveniences. You have to restrict your diet and take laxatives beforehand.
It is sometimes known as CT colonography. A virtual colonoscopy is not often used because it is not as accurate as a colonoscopy and involves exposure to radiation. Your doctor may not be able to see small abnormalities and cannot take tissue samples.
This test allows the doctor to see the rectum and lower part of the colon sigmoid colon only. To have a flexible sigmoidoscopy, you will need to have an empty bowel.
You may be given a light anaesthetic before the test. You will lie on your side while a thin, flexible tube called a sigmoidoscope is inserted gently into your anus and guided up through the bowel. The sigmoidoscope blows air or carbon dioxide into the bowel to inflate it slightly and allow the doctor to see the bowel wall more clearly. A light and camera, at the end of the sigmoidoscope show up any unusual areas, and tissue samples biopsy can be taken.
Your doctor may require additional tests to be performed to confirm any unusual areas in the bowel. An occasional side effect of a colonoscopy is temporary wind pain and flatulence, especially if air rather than carbon dioxide is passed into the bowel during the test.
More serious but rare complications include damage to the bowel or bleeding. Your doctor will discuss the risks with you. Shop Online. Contact Us. Cancer information What is cancer? Common cancer symptoms Facts and figures Explore What is cancer? What is a colonoscopy?
Colonoscopy preparation Before you have a colonoscopy, you will have a bowel preparation to clean your bowel. Some of the things you may be asked to do include: Changing your diet For a few days before the colonoscopy, you may be advised to avoid high-fibre foods, such as fruit, vegetables, brown rice, wholegrain pasta, bran, cereals, nuts and seeds.
Taking prescribed laxatives You may be prescribed a strong laxative to take 12 to 18 hours before the test. Drinking clear fluids Your doctor may advise you to also drink only fluids, such as water, broth, black tea and coffee, and clear fruit juice without pulp for 12 to 24 hours before the test. Ask if you need an enema A common way to clear the bowel is by using an enema.
How is a colonoscopy performed?
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