Flexible sigmoidoscopy – Cancer Treatment Centers of America
A flexible sigmoidoscopy is a way to check for colon cancer by looking for irritation, swelling, ulcers, polyps, and lesions that might turn into cancer. The process takes less time and planning than a colonoscopy. Also, you don’t need to be sedated or see an expert.
The mouth takes in food, which then goes to the stomach and passes into the small intestine. The big intestine, which is made up of several parts, is where the small intestine ends.
- Cecum, which is where the appendix is connected
- The ascending colon goes up to the right.
- Transverse colon: This goes across the belly under the diaphragm.
- The descending colon goes down the left side of the belly.
- Sigmoid colon, which turns into the rectum and connects to the anus. It looks like a wide U-shape or half-circle.
A lit tube is put through the anus and rectum into part of the colon during a flexible sigmoidoscopy treatment. It’s a bendable tube with a video camera on the end.
The doctor can use it to look inside the sigmoid colon for growths like polyps, tumors, and precancerous spots. It also has a tool on the end that lets the doctor take a biopsy, which is a piece of suspicious tissue.
When it’s recommended
In addition to checking for colorectal cancer, a flexible sigmoidoscopy can also be used to identify or find the cause of digestive problems like diarrhea, stomach pain, or weight loss that you can’t explain.
With a shorter, more flexible tube, a flexible sigmoidoscopy checks only the lower third of the stomach, which makes it less invasive than a colonoscopy. Doctors may first suggest a stool test or sigmoidoscopy. If anything is found to be wrong, a colonoscopy may be done as a follow-up.
Colorectal cancer screening is important for finding and treating cancers early, and it may even be able to find growths that aren’t dangerous yet.
A flexible sigmoidoscopy may be suggested by a doctor every five years, or every ten years if a stool test is done every year. Colorectal cancer is not likely to affect people who have had a colonoscopy, so they may only need to have another one every 10 years.
Before your appointment
Before your flexible sigmoidoscopy, you should tell your doctor about any medicines you’re on and make sure it’s okay for you to keep taking them. You’ll also need to empty the colon and rectum fully to get them ready.
Most of the time, medicines and diet are used together to prepare the colon. Most of the time, less bowel prep work is needed for a flexible sigmoidoscopy than for a colonoscopy.
A doctor may tell you to stick to a clear liquid diet the day before the treatment to help you go to the bathroom. Clear soup or broth, gelatins, coffee or tea without milk or creamer, fruit juices, sports drinks, and water are all examples of this.
You might have to take a mix of laxatives and enemas the night before the treatment to get your colon ready. These medicines can make you have diarrhea and empty your bowels.
During the procedure
An outpatient or doctor’s office is where a flexible sigmoidoscopy is usually done. The procedure takes about 10 to 20 minutes. For a flexible sigmoidoscopy, you usually don’t need to be sedated.
As the process goes on, you will be asked to lie on your left side, like a baby. The first thing your doctor might do is a digital rectal exam (DRE) to look for problems and get the anus ready for the scope.
The doctor then puts in a sigmoidoscope that has been greased and pumps air into the gut to get a better look. The doctor may also use a suction to get rid of waste or liquids. You might feel pressure, the need to go to the bathroom, or some mild pain.
The doctor may let you see the camera feed of the colon as he or she looks at it. The video is looked at by the doctor to see what the lining of the sigmoid colon, rectum, and anus looks like in terms of color, shape, and size.
Any colon polyps that are found may also be taken out by the doctor. This is not how you should feel. The samples might be looked at in a lab by the doctor to make sure they are not dangerous or likely to become cancerous.
Procedure risks
There may be some blood after the surgery, most likely if a polyp is taken out. It might show up after a day or two, when you’ve eaten solid foods and are going to the bathroom regularly again.
Bleeding that is worse may happen up to two weeks after the test.
Puncturing or perforating the colon is an uncommon problem that can happen during this treatment. If you have a puncture or perforation, the doctor might have to do the process again or even do surgery to fix it.
Very rarely, these uncommon problems may end up being deadly. Right away get help if you:
- A lot of pain
- Feeling sick
- Having blood in your stool
- Being bleed from the anus
- Feeling sick
- Not Strong Enough
After the procedure
You might have some minor cramps or bloating after the operation. Unless you were sedated, you can usually go back to your normal diet and routines right away.
This could happen right after the treatment or even during it. Your doctor may go over the results of the visual exam with you. It might be a few days before you hear back about any tissue samples that were taken during the surgery.
During the process, your doctor may find the following worries:
- Cracks and holes
- Cases of abscesses
- Issues with
- Painful sores
- Cancer or growths
- Headaches Polyps
- Discharge of bile
- Blood clots
- IBD stands for inflammatory bowel disease.
- Pain and swelling Infection
If your doctor sees something wrong, he or she may suggest a colonoscopy to look at the rest of the colon and get rid of any polyps or growths.