Many tumors of the colon develop as a benign polyp before becoming cancerous. Polyps present with bleeding. A polypectomy is usually carried out at the same time as a colonoscopy. During a colonoscopy, a colonoscope will be inserted into your rectum so your doctor can see all segments of your colon. A colonoscope is a long, thin, flexible tube with a camera and a light at the end of it. There are several ways in which a polypectomy can be performed. Which way your doctor chooses will depend on what kind of polyps are in the colon.

Polyps can be sessile, or pedunculated. Sessile polyps are flat and don’t have a stalk. Pedunculated polyps grow on stalks. For small polyps (less than 5 millimeters in diameter) Hot biopsy forceps can be used for removal. Larger polyps (up to 2 centimeters in diameter) can be removed using a snare. In snare polypectomy, Diluted Adrenaline is injected in the base of polyp and snare is applied around the base of polyp and cauterized. Polyp is sent for histopathology. In large polyps endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) or endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) techniques can be used. For some larger polyps that can’t be removed endoscopically, bowel surgery may be needed.