Colonoscopic polypectomy of colorectal polyps in children under general anesthesia

In many countries, general anesthesia is not routinely used for colonoscopic polypectomy in children because of either feasibility or cost-effectiveness issues. However, we have been using general anesthesia for colonoscopic polypectomy in pediatric patients in our hospital for the past 5 years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of the procedure and the degree of satisfaction that the patients' parents and endoscopists had with the use of general anesthesia. We retrospectively analyzed the results of colonoscopic polypectomies under general anesthesia in 18 patients performed between January 2001 and December 2005. The removed polyps were examined histologically and the patients were observed to assess complications during the first 24-hour postoperative period. The patients' parents' and endoscopists' satisfaction with the use of general anesthesia was surveyed after the procedure. In our patient group, there were 10 boys and eight girls. The mean age was 5.5 +/- 3.4 years (range, 2-15 years). Seventeen of the 18 patients had rectal bleeding (mean duration, 3.7 months) as the main symptom. There were 12 patients with juvenile polyps, four with hyperplastic polyps, one with juvenile polyposis and one with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. The majority (70.6%) of the polyps were located in the rectosigmoid colon. No significant complications related to colonoscopic polypectomy or anesthesia were observed. Satisfaction among parents and endoscopists ranged from good to excellent. General anesthesia is recommended for pediatric patients undergoing colonoscopic polypectomy.