Numerous patients who need a screening of the colon do not go through the procedure for fear of the procedure. The colonoscopy procedure that is currently available involves inserting a flexible tube with a viewing instrument into the rectum. It requires anaesthesia and there's a remote chance that the colon wall could be perforated by the tube. However, patients now have an easier option with the discovery of a procedure called 'Virtual Colonoscopy'. This procedure, allows computerized scanning of the colon which is more comfortable for the patient. The patient is made to lie down in a computerized tomography (CT) scanner while a small probe is inserted into the rectum so that the colon can be inflated with carbon dioxide gas. The CT scanner then takes 3 dimensional images of the whole colon, which can then be examined for polyps. The patient does not need anaesthesia and the procedure takes only half an hour. However, the procedure is purely diagnostic and if doctors find a polyp, the regular colonoscopy procedure has to be done for removal and assessment of the polyp. Further, cleansing of bowel is still required that most of patients find unpleasant.
reference: Bio-Medecine
1 comment:
Oh god. I have to have these every TWO years. I have ulcerative colitis so I have a higher risk of colon cancer. Let me tell you, two years goes by really fast. I dread the prep but I have learned if you don't eat any meat for a few days prior it makes it WAY easier. I'm glad you got a good dx so you can wait 5 years before you have to do it again! I've seen television and movie depictions of people having colonoscopies while watching the process on a television monitor, but I've never been conscious during mine. Maybe that's because I've had the esophageal endoscopy at the same time (insert Alex's bad joke about "hoping they rinse off that scope good" before switching from colon to esophagus *here*). Anyway, if your procedure is like mine, you'll be having it at a hospital or clinic's surgery center, and you'll be pleasantly unconscious for the whole thing. This almost lets you forget that strangers are going to be/have been scrutinizing your butthole. Almost. On a related side-note, I have to confess to being uncomfortable with the proliferation of boy-nurses nowadays. Yup, I'm a sexist. Especially when it comes to strangers looking at my hiney.
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