Bowel Resection - What Should You Know?

Cancer can affect almost any part of the body. However, the more severe cases of the disease affect your colorectal region. It is the third and fourth most common form of cancer to affect women and men, respectively. While chemotherapy and radiation therapy is useful against colon and rectal cancers, early cases are benifited by surgery.

When it comes to surgery for colon cancer, doctors will  need to remove the affected  colon (colectomy). Based on which colon is removed its called as right hemoicolectomy (for right sided colon), Left colectomy (For lesft sided colon) and so on. The surgery you need depends on how far the cancer has spread.

When is bowel resection performed?

Here are some cases when your doctor will recommend undergoing a colectomy.

• Cancer - This is the most common reason for the surgery. Even though the exact ratio of the colon removed differs from one patient to another.

• Crohn’s Disease

• Blockage

• Diverticulitis

• Severe bleeding

Procedure for bowel resection surgeries:

Bowel resection is a major surgery. The three major ways to conduct a bowel resection surgery are -

1. Open surgery - This is the most common form of bowel resection. The doctor will make a large incision on your abdomen. He/she will use this incision to perform the surgery and remove a part of your colon.

2. Laparoscopic surgery - In this form of the surgery, the primary incision is very small. Additional incisions are made on the abdomen as well. Doctors use a laparoscope, to perform the surgery using the small incisions. The laparoscope houses a camera, which allows the doctor to see inside the abdominal cavity while performing the surgery.

3. Robot-assisted laparoscopic resection - Similar to laparoscopic surgeries, the robot-assisted method attaches the laparoscope to a robot, who performs the surgery. The General surgeon simply controls the robot performing the surgery.

The type of surgery you will undergo depends on your condition and the portion of the colon that needs to be removed. Speak with your doctor to determine the best form of bowel resection surgery in your case.