Endoscopic snare excision of large pedunculated colorectal polyps: a new, safe, and effective technique

The endoscopic polypectomy of large pedunculated polyps can have serious complications, such as hemorrhage, which has an incidence of about 2 %. We describe here a new, safe, and effective technique of endoscopic polypectomy for the treatment of large pedunculated colorectal polyps using a standard detachable diathermic snare.

35 patients (18 men, 12 women; mean age 67.3, range 35 - 82), with 43 pedunculated colorectal polyps, of benign appearance and of size 3 cm or larger (range 3 - 5 cm) on colonoscopy, were included in our study. The polypectomy was performed in two steps: a) we first placed a polypectomy snare round the middle of the stalk, as a prophylactic measure to prevent postpolypectomy bleeding, and we then took out the colonoscope without removing the snare after dismantling it and blocking with a clip; b) endoscopic polypectomy was done using a second polypectomy snare, and transecting the stalk of the polyps at 2 mm above the first snare. The first polypectomy snare was left in place, and the patients were discharged within 3 hours of endoscopic polypectomy. The first polypectomy snare sloughed off spontaneously and slipped down the anus, being evacuated within 4 days following the endoscopic polypectomy.

The ensnared polyps were located in the rectosigmoid region (n = 27), and the descending (n = 13) and transverse colon (n = 3). Complete ensnarement of the head of the polyp with a single endoscopic treatment was obtained in all cases. In addition, no procedural or delayed bleeding was noted during a 6-month follow-up.

Our technique allows us to overcome the risk of bleeding, since the use of a standard diathermic snare makes it easier to obtain optimal tightness. Moreover, this technique is cheaper than the use of the standard detachable snare currently available (the cost of the snares being $50.52 compared with $189.47).