[Therapuetic colonoscopy]

The endoscopic exam of the colon was introduced into routine endoscopic practice in the beginning of the seventies, since then, colonoscopy has suffered important changes in terms of the equipment design (magnification, high resolution) and the technique, at present it is considered a routine study in every endoscopy unit; being the most objective method for the observation of the macroscopic characteristics of the colon with a diagnostic sensitivity of 91%, it is a safe method with a low rate of complications. The diagnostic indications are lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB), polyps, colon neoplasms, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), among others, and the therapeutic indications started four decades ago with polypectomy and since then many techniques and accessories have been designed, this has changed the diagnostic and therapeutic approach for colorectal pathology. The most common indications and that are performed more frequently in the endoscopy suite are: polypectomy, endoscopic resection of tumors, different methods for controlling hemostasis in angiodysplasias, bleeding diverticuli or post-polypectomy, dilatation of stenosis and, recently, placement of auto-expandable stents as an indication for colonic decompression due to neoplasms of the rectum or sigmoid colon, or as a palliative method. These are the main indications and that will be reviewed in this article.