The good news is that, under normal circumstances, you only have to undergo a screening colonoscopy every 5-10 years if the previous examination was normal and you don’t have any other risk factors for bowel cancer. And, who knows, by the time you need your next one, the Pharmaceutical companies may have figured out how to make the bowel prep taste good. For individuals with an increased risk of colon polyps or cancer, the interval for colonoscopy can be shorter. Your Gastroenterologist will provide you with the recommended interval based on the specific risk factors you may have, the number of polyps removed, the size of the polyps and the laboratory grading.
If your Gastroenterologist finds one or more polyps during the procedure, he or she can remove the majority of them right then and there using specialized tools called biopsy forceps or snares, which can be fed through a channel inside the colonoscope. If a polyp or tumour is too big to be safely removed through the colonoscope, the doctor will take small samples the tissue (biopsy) to send to a lab to be examined by an experienced Histopathologist. If other abnormalities are found in the colon, or the colonoscopy is being done to determine the cause of symptoms, biopsies can also be performed. It usually takes no more than a few days to get the results of a biopsy. One of our reception staff will call you to let you know if your doctor wants to discuss the results with you in person, although in most instances the news is good.
It may be recommended that you finish work at 3pm the day before your scheduled colonoscopy, and you will need to arrange to take the entire day of the procedure off work. Most people wake up well within 30 minutes after the completion of the colonoscopy. Initially, you may feel groggy from the sedation medicine. For this and legal reasons, you won’t be allowed to leave the recovery room alone or drive any vehicle or operate any machinery until the next morning, so line up a ride ahead of time. Ask your doctor if you need a medical certificate as you will need to take the rest of the day off. We find that if you relax at home with some light food and lots of fluids and get a good night’s sleep you will be ready to go to work the next morning.
In most cases, no. Your doctor can’t usually tell, simply by looking at a polyp during a colonoscopy, if it’s cancerous. But if a polyp is found during your colonoscopy, your doctor will remove it and send it to a lab for a biopsy to check for cancerous or precancerous cells.
A colonoscopy with EMR is a low risk procedure, there are rarely any complications. However, potential risks that may occur include; bleeding for up to 2 weeks after the procedure or a small hole in the colon wall may develop during the procedure (perforation). The risk of these complications occurring increases with the removal of larger polyps as opposed to smaller ones. However, the doctor will discuss these risks with you prior to the procedure. If a complication does occur, observation in hospital is necessary and surgery may be needed. If you are worried about any of these risks, please speak to your doctor. You can also request a formal face to face discussion with your doctor prior to procedure.
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