Colon Surgery

The large bowel, also known as large intestine or colon is the final portion of your digestive system. It includes the cecum, ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid colon as well as the rectum which ends in the anal canal.

Key Functions

• Water Absorption: Absorbs most remaining water and electrolytes from digested food.
• Vitamin Production: Gut bacteria produce essential vitamins, like some B vitamins, that the body absorbs.
• Waste Formation: Solidifies liquid waste into stool.
• Waste Elimination: Moves stool through peristalsis (muscle contractions) towards the rectum for defecation.

Colectomy

Also known as large bowel resection, is a surgery where Dr Paracha will detach a portion of the (or the entire) large intestine from the surrounding organs and tissue, he will cut and remove the damaged or diseased part of the bowel which could be caused by diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease), cancer or stricture of the colon. The healthy ends of the intestine are then reconnected with tiny staples or sutures.

This is usually done robotically and the patient benefits from the advantages of minimally invasive type of procedure are reduction of post-operative pain, recovery time, and may result in a faster return to solid food diet and return of bowel function. On elective cases, patient typically spend 2 nights in the hospital, with outliers going home the night after surgery.

A colectomy may also be performed by an open procedure, depending on multiple factors such as the location and size of the diseased or damaged colon, history of prior surgeries, overall health of the patient, etc. In some cases, Dr Paracha may need to change from a minimally invasive approach to open surgery during the procedure for better visualization, etc.

If it can be done with small incisions Dr Paracha will try to the best of his abilities, but bottom line he will do what is safest for you or your loved one.