WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED DURING FLEXIBLE SIGMOIDOSCOPY?
Flexible sigmoidoscopy is usually well tolerated and rarely causes much pain. There is often a feeling of pressure, bloating, or cramping at various times during the procedure. You will be lying on your side while the sigmoidoscope is advanced slowly through the rectum and colon. As the instrument is slowly withdrawn, the lining of the intestine is carefully examined. The procedure usually takes 5-15 minutes What if the flexible sigmoidoscopy shows something abnormal? If your doctor sees an area that needs evaluation in greater detail, a biopsy (a sample of colon lining) may be obtained and submitted to the laboratory for greater analysis. If polyps (growths from the lining of the colon which vary in size) are found, they can be biopsied, but usually are not removed at the time of sigmoidoscopy. Polyps are of varying types, certain benign polyps, known as ‘adenomas’ are potentially precancerous. Certain other polyps (“hyper plastic” by biopsy analysis) may not require removal. Your doc
