The cathartic drug you will be taking before endoscopy is not like the one you take for when you have abstrictions, but which is called “Intestine cleaning drugs”.
Even at large intestine, where the fluid absorption takes place in your, these drugs consists from not to be absorbed in any intestinal organs. Therefore drinking 2 liter of this drug in an hour floods the whole intestine sending the entire food residue out from the anus. It takes you about 5 times to take the bathroom, normally with no pain at all. It is few, but there had been rare experience of sickness and vomit.
Colonoscope made from flexible tube, is about 10mm in its outer diameter of the scope, and has the total utility length of about 1m, enough to reach from anal to the cecum. At the end of the scope it has a lens, and through this lens just like a home video camera, a CCD captures the image and sends to the monitor. Through the colonoscope there is a 3mm tunnel (working channel) which can path through devices for endoscopic procedures and also can absorb liquid or stools in the intestine. Also it has a airing function and lens cleaning watering function, all to support detect polyps by colonoscopy and treat endoscopically.
By Using a “Intestine Cleaning Drug” and having a clean large intestine, a colonoscope is gently inserted from the anal up to the cecum. Once leached to the cecum, observation is made by gently and slowly extracting the endoscope. When a polyp or other is found, more concentrated observation will be performed at that moment to diagnose if the lesion is resectable by endoscopic procedure; meaning benign lesion or early stage cancer, or need of surgery; meaning late stage cancer. (Our clinic offers the highest diagnosis skill and results by using the magnifying endoscope)
After the diagnosis, if the polyp was defined endoscopically resectable, we immediately proceed to polypectomy (Resecting the polyp)
There for, as colonoscopy can proceed from diagnosis to treatment in one examination, we can say it is a very efficient examination.
Considering the anatomy of large intestine, a very high skill is required when inserting a colonoscope from sigmoid colon to descending colon, where the colon curves in S shape.
When inserting the colonoscope to the descending colon, folding the sigmoid colon like an accordion and making the strongly curve as straight as possible makes almost no pain. On the other hand this technique requires high skill of colonoscopy, and without this just pushing the colonoscope towards the sigmoid colon will be torturous. Again straitening the intestine as much as possible is the key to make the procedure with less pain as possible. Our clinic has high reputation of, minimum pain procedure and confident endoscopic diagnosis and therapy. Therefore we feel strong confidence in providing our patient with satisfying endoscopy.
A colon polyp is a lesion which occurs from the surface of the mucosa which has no sensory nerve. Therefore patients will feel no pain during the resection.
When resecting a polyp, the mucosa is cauterized, which prevents bleeding from the wound. This wound becomes an ulcer and there is a data from the National Cancer Center that 0.5% of post polypectomy bleeding occurs. There fore we advice the patient for certain restriction for about an week.
The followings are some precautions to avoid the blood vessels in the ulcer to inflate and bleed.
1）Avoid stimulated food and alcohol
2）Avoid sports (Like golf or running)
3）Avoid taking a bath for couple of days (Taking shower is OK), and avoid taking a long bath for about a week.
You will be able to go back to your work from next day, but will be asked to avoid work like carrying heavy luggage for a week. Working at a desk is suitable during the period.
