[Polypectomy of the stomach and colon. 6 years' analysis]

From August 1976 till December 1982 855 polyps were removed by endoscopic polypectomy from the upper and lower digestive tract in 450 patients. With 0.70% the complication rate was very low. Altogether 6 haemorrhages were observed, three of which had to be treated by a transfusion. There did not occur neither a complication which had to be treated surgically nor a fatal one. Among the colon polyps in 9% and among the gastric polyps in 2.9% a malignant change was found. The macroscopic picture of a polyp does not allow a conclusion to the histological findings. Therefore the endoscopic polypectomy and the careful histological investigation of the polyp demand a close cooperation between specialist in endoscopy and pathologist.