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About colonoscopy This is a procedure that is performed at the hospital or surgicenter as a same-day procedure; no admission to the hospital is usually necessary. Most patients will spend several hours at the hospital, being prepared for the procedure with the placement of an intravenous line, undergoing the procedure, and recovering from the sedation before being taken home. For the procedure, you will lie on your left side on the examining table. You will probably be given an intravenous line through which pain medication and a mild sedative to keep you comfortable and to help you relax during the exam. This combination of medications produces conscious sedation, allowing you to be comfortable during the procedure while still being able to breathe spontaneously and retain the ability to hear and follow commands. The intravenous line serves several purposes: it allows for the giving of fluid to keep you well hydrated through the procedure; it enables the doctor to give, and it allows a route to give other medications that may be needed during and after the procedure for comfort and safety. The physician will insert a long, flexible, lighted tube into your rectum and slowly guide it into your colon. The tube is called a colonoscope (koh-LON-oh-skope). The scope transmits an image of the inside of the colon, so the physician can carefully examine the lining of the colon. The scope bends, so the physician can move it around the curves of your colon. You may be asked to change position occasionally to help the physician move the scope. The scope also blows air into your colon, which inflates the colon and helps the physician see better.
Colonoscopy takes 30 to 60 minutes. The sedative and pain medicine should
keep you from feeling much discomfort during the exam. You will need to remain
at the hospital or outpatient center for several hours until the sedative
wears off. The quality of the examination is directly related to the
quality of the bowel preparation; liquid or solid stool can hide things that
need to be seen and taken care of during the procedure. That's why it is
especially important to follow the instructions given to you exactly, to make
you preparation of the bowel for colonoscopy the best that it can be. Your colon
must be completely empty for the colonoscopy to be thorough and safe. To prepare
for the procedure you may have to follow a liquid diet for 1 to 3 days
beforehand. A liquid diet means fat-free bouillon or broth, Jell-O®,
strained fruit juice, water, plain coffee, plain tea, or diet soda. You may need
to take laxatives or an enema before the procedure. Also, you must arrange for
someone to take you home afterward--you will not be allowed to drive because of
the sedatives. |
If
anything unusual is in your colon, like a polyp or inflamed tissue, the
physician can remove a piece of it using tiny instruments passed through the
scope. That tissue (biopsy) is then sent to a lab for testing. If there is
bleeding in the colon, the physician can pass a laser, heater probe, or
electrical probe, or inject special medicines, through the scope and use it to
stop the bleeding.