Flexible colonoscopy

Colonoscopy with fiberoptic instruments has opened new vistas in diagnosis and treatment of colonic disease. Such endoscopy requires skill, experience, and judgment to be accomplished readily and safely but permits visual examination of the entire colon and, frequently, the terminal ileum as well. Although in experienced hands colonoscopy may have greater diagnostic accuracy than the barium enema, particularly with respect to colorectal cancer and polyps, the two are complementary modalities and with their combined use an extremely high rate of detection and confirmed diagnosis can be expected. The Beth Israel group introduced the technique of snare-cautery removal of colonic polyps via the colonoscope and has now successfully resected over 2500 such polyps without a single death. This is the largest world experience. Selected polyps can be removed endoscopically as an ambulatory procedure, reducing costs and incapacitation time. Neoplastic polyps often harbor invasive cancer and their extirpation is expected to reduce the incidence of overt colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy and endoscopic polypectomy offers the opportunity to check the rising incidence, morbidity, and mortality related to colorectal cancer.