Services - Colonoscopy

A colonoscopy is an examination of the colon performed under anaesthesia. A flexible instrument carrying a video camera is inserted through the anus and passes around the bowel. It is an excellent tool to diagnose a range of bowel problems. In particular, it is used to identify the presence of cancer, or preferably, to remove polyps from the bowel before they have a chance to develop into cancer. Polyps are small benign growths that grow on the wall of the colon. They occur in about 10% of people and generally have no symptoms. A small proportion of them will eventually turn into bowel cancer. People with a strong family history of bowel cancer and those who have had previous colonic polyps removed are at higher risk of developing polyps and bowel cancer. A colonoscopy currently gives the best view of the entire colon and rectum and allows biopsies to be taken and polyps removed.

Before a colonoscopy is performed, the bowel needs to be cleaned out. This is referred to as a “bowel preparation” and it usually involves the ingestion of an oral preparation on the day before the procedure which induces a form of diarrhea to remove all the bowel content.

The colonoscopy procedure is performed under general anaesthetic and requires admission to hospital for several hours.

The major risk associated with a colonoscopy is perforation of the colon. This is reported to occur in about one case in every 1,000 colonoscopies in Australia. Its occurrence is related to technical factors in the colon and the experience of the colonoscopist.   It can be a serious problem that can be treated with or without surgery, depending on the circumstances. The other significant risk associated with colonoscopy is bleeding, which may follow the removal of a polyp in about 1 in a hundred cases.  Bleeding is rarely serious and will usually stop spontaneously. Very uncommonly a blood transfusion may be required and, more rarely, a colonoscopy or even surgery to stop the bleeding.

Your doctor will discuss the full details of the colonoscopy procedure and the risks involved at the time of your consultation.

Screening Colonoscopy

Screening colonoscopy is designed prevent bowel cancer. It is known that one in seventeen males and one in twenty-four females will develop bowel cancer in our community. The evidence shows that colonoscopy screening reduces that figure by detecting and removing the polyps before they develop into cancer.

Some currently recommended screening colonoscopy regimes:

1. Low risk group.

No family history of colorectal cancer or one first degree relative > 55

Recommended screening colonoscopy:-

• Annual faecal occult blood test
• Five-yearly sigmoidoscopy, or ten-yearly colonoscopy from the age of fifty.

2. Moderate risk group.

Two first degree relatives on the same side of family or one first degree
relative less than 55

Recommended screening colonoscopy:-

• Annual faecal occult blood test
• Colonoscopy every 5 years starting from the age of fifty, or ten years younger than the youngest age at which a relative was affected.

3. High risk group

HNPCC (Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer)
Colonoscopy 2 yearly from age 25 or 5 years before index case

FAP (Familial Adenomatous Polyposis)
Annual flexible sigmoidoscopy from age 15

Polyps
Colonoscopy every 3 years if the polyp is-.
>1cm, villous, with high grade dysplasia or >2 polyps present
Otherwise, colonoscopy every 4-6 years          

Personal history of colorectal cancer
Colonoscopy every 3 years

Bowel Polyp Images

Please click here to view images of bowel polyps. These images may be offensive for some people and are not for the faint-hearted. 

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