Flexible sigmoidoscopy, which is performed by a qualified medical professional, uses a narrow, flexible tube with a tiny camera on the end. This is called a scope, or rectum. It allows for a view inside your descending and colon. Flexible sigmoidoscopy may reveal irritated tissue, ulcers and polyps.
Flexible sigmoidoscopy is a method that allows trained medical professionals to view your rectum and lower portion of your colon including the sigmoid.
Why do doctors use flexible sigmoidoscopy?
Flexible sigmoidoscopy is a tool that doctors use to help them identify the source of undiagnosed symptoms.
- Bleeding from your anus
- Changes in your bowel activity, such as diarrhea
- Pain in your stomach
- Unexplained weight loss
Flexible sigmoidoscopy is also used by doctors to screen for colon polyps, colon and rectal cancer. A screening may detect diseases earlier, which gives doctors a greater chance of curing them.
Screening for rectal and colon cancer
If you are healthy and have not had any health issues, your doctor may recommend that you be screened for rectal cancer.
These are some of the factors that increase your chances of developing colorectal carcinoma.
- Someone in your family has experienced cancer of the colon, rectum or polyps.
- A personal history of inflammatory intestinal disease such as ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s disease
- Other factors include smoking or excess weight NIH external Link
Your doctor may recommend that you have colorectal cancer screening done earlier in your life. You may also need to be tested more frequently.
Talk to your doctor if you are over 75 years old. You can find more information at the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s colorectal Cancer Screening Guidelines External Link.
Most doctors recommend colonoscopy for screening for colon cancer. This is because it shows the entire colon and can remove any colon polyps. While it may take longer to prepare for and perform a flexible sigmoidoscopy, you might not need anesthesia NIH link. Flexible sigmoidoscopy may be combined with other tests by health care providers.
A colonoscopy is recommended to check the rest of your colon if your doctor discovers abnormal tissue or polyps in a flexible sigmoidoscopy.
Private health insurance plans and government health plans like Medicare can sometimes change the frequency of cancer screenings. To find out how often your insurance covers a flexible screening sigmoidoscopy, check with your plan.
To learn more about rectal and colon cancer , visit the National Cancer Institute’s site.
How can I prepare for flexible sigmoidoscopy preparation?
You will need to speak with your doctor and change your diet.
Talk to your doctor
Talk to your doctor about all medical conditions and any prescribed or over-the-counter medications, vitamins and supplements.
- arthritis medications NIH external link
- aspirin NIH external link or other medicines that contain aspirin
- Blood thinners External link
- diabetes medicines
- No steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen National Institute of Health external link and naproxen National Institute of Health external link are not available.
- Vitamins containing iron or iron supplements
Cleanse your bowels and change your diet
Before the procedure, a health professional will provide you with bowel preparation instructions that you can follow at home. Bowel prep is performed by a health care professional to ensure that no stool remains in your intestine. Clear and liquid stool can be passed with complete bowel prep. Your doctor may not be able to see the lining of your intestinal tract if you have stool in your colon.
A clear liquid diet may be required the day before your procedure. You will be given specific instructions on how to begin and stop the clear liquid diet. The following are acceptable options for drinking or eating:
- Fat-free broth or bouillon
- Gelatin can be found in citrus, lime, and orange flavors
- Plain coffee or tea without cream or milk
- Sports drinks with flavors like lemon, lime, and orange
- Sterilized fruit juice, such a white grape or apple, is recommended by doctors.
- Water
You will be given specific instructions by your doctor about how to prepare for the procedure.
Your doctor will advise you on how long you should wait before you have to stop eating.
Before the procedure, a health care professional will ask that you follow the instructions for bowel prep. The bowel prep can cause diarrhea so it is important to use a toilet.
Different bowel preps might contain different combinations of laxatives–pills you swallow or powders you dissolve in water–and Enemas. A large amount, usually a gallon of liquid laxative, will be required to be consumed over a set time, most often the night before.
This part of the bowel prep may be difficult for you. However, it is essential that you complete the preparation. If the prep is not completed, your doctor won’t be able see your sigmoid col clearly.
If you experience side effects that prevent your preparation from being completed, you should consult your doctor immediately.
How do doctors perform a flexible sigmoidoscopy?
An experienced medical professional performs flexible sigmoidoscopy in an office visit, at a hospital, or outpatient center. The procedure is usually performed without the need for anesthesia or sedation and takes approximately 20 minutes. The doctor will ask you to lie down on a table and insert a sigmoidoscopy through your anus. This is done by slowly moving the scope through your rectum into your colon. To give the doctor a better look, the scope injects air into your large intestinal. The camera transmits a video of your intestinal lining onto a monitor. This allows the doctor to inspect the tissues in your sigmoid colon, and rectum. To improve the scope’s view, the doctor might ask you to move around on the table. The doctor will slowly remove the scope from your transverse col and inspect the lining again.
For the procedure, you’ll be asked to lie on a table while the doctor inserts a sigmoidoscopy into your anus.
Your doctor will remove any polyps during the procedure and send them to a laboratory for testing. Colon polyps can be found in adults, and they are usually harmless. However, colon cancer is most often caused by a polyp. It is important to remove polyps as soon as possible.
A biopsy may be performed if your doctor discovers abnormal tissue. The biopsy will not feel.
Your doctor might recommend that you have a colonoscopy if your doctor finds polyps or any other abnormal tissue after a flexible sigmoidoscopy.
What can I expect from a flexible sigmoidoscopy procedure?
You can expect the following after a flexible sigmoidoscopy:
- After the procedure, you may feel cramping or bloating in the abdomen.
- After the procedure, you can resume your normal activities immediately.
- You can eat a normal diet again.
After the procedure, a health professional will provide written instructions and review them with you. Follow all instructions.
Light bleeding may occur from the anus if you have had polyps removed or a biopsy performed. This is normal. You will receive some results from the flexible sigmoidoscopy right away. Your doctor will also share these results. The biopsy tissue will be examined by a pathologist. It can take several days for the results of a biopsy to be returned.
What are the potential risks associated with a flexible sigmoidoscopy?
There are risks associated with flexible sigmoidoscopy
- Bleeding
- Perforation at the colon
- You feel severe pain in your stomach
- Death, though this risk is rare, can happen
Perforation and bleeding are two of the most common complications of flexible sigmoidoscopy. Patients who have had their polyps removed are at risk of bleeding. A doctor can immediately treat bleeding caused by flexible sigmoidoscopy. You may experience delayed bleeding for up to two weeks following the procedure. A colonoscopy is used to diagnose delayed bleeding and can be followed up with flexible sigmoidoscopy. Perforation may require surgery.
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