Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 02/17/2009
BOOKS
Beers, Mark H. and Robert Berkow, eds. Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 17th edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck & Co., 1999.
Dachman, Abraham H., (editor). Atlas of Virtual Colonoscopy. Berlin:...
Springer Verlag, 2003.
Dafnis, George. Colonoscopy: Introduction and Development,Completion Rates, Complications and Cancer Detection (Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine, 1039). Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala University, 2001.
Tierney, Lawrence M., Stephen J. McPhee, and Maxine A. Papadakis (editors). Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2003. Stamford, CT: Appleton & Lange, 2002.
PERIODICALS
Dominitz, J. A., et al. "Complications of Colonoscopy."Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 57, no 4 (April 2003): 441–5.
Isenberg, G. A., et al. "Virtual Colonoscopy."GastrointestinalEndoscopy 57, no 4 (April 2003): 451–4.
Rabeneck, Linda, Hashem B. El-Serag, Jessica A. Davila, and Robert S. Sandler. "Outcomes of Colorectal Cancer in the United States: No Change in Survival (1986–1997)."The American Journal of Gastroenterology 98, no 2 (February 2003): 471–477.
ORGANIZATIONS
American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). 4900-B South 31st Street, Arlington, VA 22206-1656. (703) 820-7400; Fax: (703) 931-4520.
Colorectal Cancer Network (CCNetwork). P.O. Box 182, Kensington, MD 20895-0182. (301) 879-1500; Fax: (301) 879-1901.
International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD). P.O. Box 170864, Milwaukee, WI 53217. (888) 964-2001, (414) 964-1799; Fax: (414) 964-7176. Email:
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. 2 Information Way, Bethesda, MD 20892-3570. E-mail:
Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). 2716 Ocean Park Boulevard, Suite 3000, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 314-2404; Fax: (310) 314-2585.
Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates Inc. 401 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611-4267. (800) 245-7462; Fax: (312) 527-6658.
OTHER
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. United States Department of Health and Human Services. Screen for Life. National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign. 2003 [cited April 9, 2003]
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Colorectal Cancer Screening Health Decision Guide. 2003 [cited April 4, 2003]
PDR Health (Thompson Healthcare). Colon Cancer: The CaseFor Early Detection. 2003 [cited April 2, 2003]
Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons. Patient Information from Your Surgeon & SAGES. 2002 [cited April 9, 2003]
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Other Information
Colonoscopy is the endoscopic examination of the large colon and the distal part of the small bowel with a CCD camera or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. It may provide a visual diagnosis (e.g. ulceration, polyps) and grants the opportunity for biopsy or removal of suspected lesions. Virtual colonoscopy, which uses 2D and 3D imagery reconstructed from computed tomography (CT) scans or from nuclear magnetic resonance (MR) scans, is also possible, as a totally non-invasive medical test, although it is not standard and still under investigation regarding its diagnostic abilities. Furthermore, virtual colonoscopy does not allow for therapeutic maneuvers such as polyp/tumor removal or biopsy nor visualization of lesions smaller than 5 millimeters. If a growth or polyp is detected using CT colonography, a standard colonoscopy would still need to be performed. Colonoscopy can remove polyps as small as one millimeter or less. Once polyps are removed, they can be studied with the aid of a microscope to determine if they are precancerous or not. Colonoscopy is similar to but not the same as sigmoidoscopy. The difference between colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy is related to which parts of the colon each can examine. Sigmoidoscopy allows doctors to view only the final two feet of the colon, while colonoscopy allows an examination of the entire colon, which measures four to five feet in length. Often a sigmoidoscopy is used as a screening procedure for a full colonoscopy. In many instances a sigmoidoscopy is performed in conjunction with a fecal occult blood test (FOBT), which can detect the formation of cancerous cells throughout the colon.
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