MedicineClinical SciencesSurgeryGastroenterologyGeneral SurgerySurgical PathologyColorectal SurgeryEndoscopic Biopsy TechniquesEndoscopic SurgeryEndoscopic Tumor ResectionGastrointestinal EndoscopyTherapeutic EndoscopyColonic ImagingColonic PolypsDiagnostic Accuracy StudiesEndoscopic PolypectomyFiber-optic EndoscopyLower Gastrointestinal EndoscopyRigid EndoscopesSurgical Endoscopy
Colonofiberoscopy rivals the barium enema in its diagnostic potential for diseases of the colon and rectum. It surpasses the traditional rigid sigmoidoscope by extending the range of examination and biopsy to the entire colon. Two hundred and forty-one patients have been subjected to fiberoptic colonic endoscopy without complication. Biopsies were performed from the rectosigmoid to the ascending colon level in 47 patients with high diagnostic accuracy. In symptomatic patients, where barium enema studies showed suspicious changes or no abnormality, the clinical problem was usually solved by fiberoptic colonoscopy; many were spared exploratory laparotomy. Pedunculated polyps have been removed successfully endoscopically, with use of this instrument.