Colorectal surgery

What is it?

The digestive system.

The digestive system or bowel is made up of a long intestinal tube that extends from the mouth at one end to the rectum at the other. The colon is located in the lower area of your digestive system.

Cells within this area are constantly being replaced to rid the body of damaged or old cells. This replication is tightly controlled, but sometimes damage to the regulation system can cause more new cells to develop than are needed. This can lead to development of growths called polyps. These are harmless in themselves. However, if they continue to grow, they have the potential to develop into cancer.

How is it treated?

Laparoscopic right hemicolectomy removes approximately a third of your large bowel. It is necessary to remove so much bowel because of the way the blood supply looks after the bowel, rather than because the disease is so extensive.

This operation is done through several small cuts in your abdomen (about 1cm or less). There will be one slightly larger cut near your belly button (approximately 6cm).

The two free ends of the bowel will be joined together. This is what doctors call an anastomosis. It is extremely unlikely that you would require a stoma (ileostomy or more commonly known as bag) after this operation. If you do require a stoma it is likely that it will only be for a short period of time (this type of stoma is reversible).

Pre and post-operation information