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Colorectal surgery#Surgical treatment and diagnostic procedures

{{Short description|Field in medicine for disabilities in the rectum}}

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Colorectal surgery is a field in medicine dealing with disorders of the rectum, anus, and colon.{{cite web | title = Colon and Rectal Surgery Specialty Description | publisher = American Medical Association | url = https://www.ama-assn.org/specialty/colon-and-rectal-surgery-specialty-description | access-date = 22 May 2020}} The field is also known as proctology, but this term is now used infrequently within medicine and is most often employed to identify practices relating to the anus and rectum in particular.{{clarify|date=December 2018}} The word proctology is derived from the Greek words {{lang|grc|πρωκτός}} {{Transliteration|grc|proktos}}, meaning "anus" or "hindparts", and {{lang|grc|-λογία}} {{Transliteration|grc|-logia}}, meaning "science" or "study".

Physicians specializing in this field of medicine are called colorectal surgeons or proctologists. In the United States, to become colorectal surgeons, surgical doctors have to complete a general surgery residency as well as a colorectal surgery fellowship, upon which they are eligible to be certified in their field of expertise by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery or the American Osteopathic Board of Proctology. In other countries, certification to practice proctology is given to surgeons at the end of a 2–3 year subspecialty residency by the country's board of surgery.

Scope of the specialty

Colorectal surgical disorders include:{{cite web|title=Digestive Tract: Rectal and Colon Diseases and Conditions

|publisher=Cleveland Clinic|url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/4090-digestive-tract-rectal-and-colon-diseases-and-conditions}}

Surgical treatment and diagnostic procedures

File:Gross pathology of minimally invasive colorectal surgery of tubulovillous adenoma.jpg resected by minimally invasive colorectal surgery.]]

Surgical forms of treatment for these conditions include: colectomy, ileo/colostomy, polypectomy, strictureplasty, hemorrhoidectomy (in severe cases of hemorrhoids), minimally invasive surgery, anoplasty, and more depending on the condition the patient has. Diagnostic procedures, such as a colonoscopy, are very important in colorectal surgery, as they can tell the physician what type of diagnosis should be given and what procedure should be done to correct the condition. Other diagnostic procedures used by colorectal surgeons include: proctoscopy, defecating proctography, sigmoidoscopy. In recent times, the laparoscopic method of surgery has seen a surge of popularity, due to its lower risks, decreased recovery time, and smaller, more precise incisions achieved by using laparoscopic instruments.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ccalliance.org/blog/patient-support/what-is-minimally-invasive-surgery|title=What is minimally invasive surgery?|website=ccalliance.org|date=5 October 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-22}}

Mechanical bowel preparation

Mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) is a procedure lacking evidence in literature,{{cite journal |author=McCoubrey AS |title=The use of mechanical bowel preparation in elective colorectal surgery |journal=Ulster Med J |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=127–30 |date=September 2007 |pmid=17853636 |pmc=2075581 }} wherein fecal matter is expelled from the bowel lumen prior to surgery, most commonly by using sodium phosphate.{{cite journal |author=Zmora O|author2=Pikarsky AJ|author3=Wexner SD |title=Bowel preparation for colorectal surgery |journal=Dis. Colon Rectum |volume=44 |issue=10 |pages=1537–49 |date=October 2001 |pmid=11598488 |doi=10.1007/bf02234614|s2cid=138004}}

See also

References

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Category:Anal diseases

Category:Rectal diseases