Colonoscopy – Preparation & Procedure

Transcript

You may be sent for a colonoscopy by your primary care doctor, and oftentimes people ask what that may entail. The preps nowadays are much better than the large three gallon jug you have to drink. Nowadays, i’s usually two 16 ounce bottles of prep. And even recently they’ve come out with a newer pill version of those preps to help clean out the colon. It is important to actually take these preps because we need a good view of your colon when a colonoscopy is performed. This is the only way we’ll find small polyps or small lesions that can potentially be removed to prevent cancers down the line. The worst part of the colonoscopy is the prep and the evacuation of the stool. However, you do not have to drink these large volume preps now. Once you’re prepped, then the actual procedure is relatively painless. You will be sedated with anesthesia for the most part, oftentimes with propafol and you will not remember any of it. They use no incisions with a colonoscopy. It’s just a scope that is placed through your colon to look for these polyps. Once it’s done, and any polyps are removed, you’ll wake up, go home, and at that point for the most part can eat whatever you want.