You may need colon surgery for many different reasons, such as:
- Uncontrollable bleeding: If you’re experiencing severe bleeding from the colon, surgery can remove the impacted area of the colon.
- Bowel obstruction: A blocked colon may require emergency surgery to remove part or all of the colon. This varies from patient to patient.
- Colon cancer: During the early stages of colon cancer, you may need a small section of the colon removed to prevent the cancer from spreading. At later stages, you may need to have more of the colon removed.
- Crohn’s disease: Colon surgery may temporarily relieve symptoms of Crohn’s disease if medications aren’t improving your health.
- Ulcerative colitis: You may need to have part or all of the colon removed if medications haven’t resolved your symptoms. An expert may also recommend surgery if your doctor discovers precancerous changes during a colonoscopy.
- Diverticulitis: At the recommendation of your primary care physician, you may need surgery to remove the affected part of your colon.
- Preventive surgery: If you are at risk for developing colon cancer due to the formation of multiple precancerous colon polyps, your doctor may recommend colon surgery. Surgery is also an option for people with inherited genetic conditions that increase the risk of developing colon cancer, such as familial adenomatous polyposis or Lynch syndrome.
