A colonoscopy examines the large bowel. It is usually performed as a day-only procedure in a hospital or private clinic. If your doctor recommends you have this test, you will be asked to avoid food, drinking only fluids for a day or two before your appointment.
A mild sedative will be injected into a vein in your arm — it won't completely knock you out, but will help to make you more relaxed and comfortable. A long flexible tube is then inserted into the back passage. It produces images of the bowel lining on a video screen, allowing doctors to observe any abnormalities.
The procedure also allows other instruments to be passed through the colonoscope. These may be used, for example, to painlessly remove any suspicious-looking growth or to take a biopsy — a small piece for further examination.
Colonoscopy is a safe and effective way to evaluate problems such as blood loss, pain and changes in bowel habits such as chronic diarrhea or abnormalities that may have first been detected by other tests. Colonoscopy can also identify and treat bleeding of the bowel. The procedure is also an important way to check for colon cancer and to treat colon polyps.
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