Your colon is vital to your digestive health — so when a condition affects this important organ, it can be disruptive to your life, and in some cases, life-threatening. While treatments like medication can often help relieve symptoms, sometimes surgery is the best option for your long-term wellness.
At Forrest City Medical Center, our board-certified surgeons specialize in colectomy, a procedure to remove all or part of your colon. For many patients, especially those with chronic conditions, colectomy can make a significant difference in their quality of life.
Our surgeons are trained in the most minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques, which may offer you significantly less pain, fewer complications and a faster recovery.
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Why Colectomy is Used
The colon is part of the body's digestive system, which removes and processes nutrients from foods and helps pass waste from the body. Colectomy, also called bowel resection, is performed to treat and prevent conditions that impact the colon, such as:
- Bleeding that can't be controlled. Severe bleeding from the colon (perhaps from a tear) may require surgery to remove the affected portion.
- Bowel obstruction. A blocked colon is an emergency that may require partial or total colectomy.
- Colon cancer. A small or larger section of the colon may be removed, depending on the stage of the cancer.
- Crohn's disease. If medication isn’t helping, removing the affected part of your colon can offer relief.
- Diverticulitis. Your doctor may recommend a colectomy if your diverticulitis recurs or causes complications.
- Ulcerative colitis. Your doctor may recommend total colectomy for severe symptoms that can’t be controlled by medication.
Preventive surgery
If multiple precancerous polyps are found during a colonoscopy, you may choose to undergo a total colectomy to prevent cancer. Colectomy may also be an option if you have an inherited genetic condition that increases colon cancer risk, such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or Lynch syndrome.
Colectomy: Better Precision, Less Incision
Traditional “open” colectomy requires the surgeon to make an incision in your abdomen large enough to see the colon and perform the procedure using hand-held tools. Whenever possible, Dr. Whitt uses a more minimally invasive laparoscopic approach — which requires just a few small incisions.