Colonoscopy

Colonoscopy is a safe and non-invasive diagnostic test used to visualise the full lining of the colon and rectum with a long and flexible tube called colonoscope. The colonoscope is inserted through the anus and carefully pushed into the rectum and colon. Doctors will give patients a solution to clean out the colon before the scheduled colonoscopy.

Doctors might recommend a colonoscopy examination if a patient presents symptoms suggest potential abnormalities in the colon or rectum. The symptoms include rectal bleeding, changes in bowel habits (constipation or diarrhoea), blood in the stool, abnormal weight loss and abdominal pain. Colonoscopy can also be used as a routine screening for people who have a history of colon cancer or polyps (non-cancerous growths in the lining of the colon), and as screening for inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. It can also be used to remove colon polyps and to take a biopsy (small tissue of the lining of the colon) for examination under the microscope to identify an infection.