Colorectal

Colorectal Surgery

Colorectal cancer often starts in the glands of the colon or rectum lining. Most colorectal cancers begin as noncancerous (benign) polyps that slowly turn into cancer.

Colon Cancer Surgery: Colon cancer surgery is called a colectomy or colon resection. Doctors remove the diseased part of your colon, and reconnect the remaining healthy parts. If doctors cannot reconnect the healthy parts of your colon, a colostomy may be performed. During the  surgery, doctors create an opening, or stoma, in the lower abdomen that allows waste to pass from your body into a colostomy bag.

Rectal Cancer Surgery: Surgery on the upper rectum is called a low anterior resection or (LAR). The goal is to remove the cancer and connect the sigmoid colon (part of colon closest to rectum) with the remaining healthy part of the rectum. This allows waste to pass normally through the anus.

An abdominoperineal resection (APR) may be performed if the cancer is too close to the anus. Some or all of the anal sphincter is also removed. The sphincter muscle keeps the anus closed. Because the sphincter is responsible for bowel control, the surgeon also performs a colostomy to allow your body to get rid of waste.

Serious complications may occur in any surgery, including da Vinci® Surgery. Risks include, but are not limited to, injury to tissues and organs and conversion to other surgical techniques, and may include death. If your doctor needs to convert the surgery to another surgical technique, this could result in a longer operative time, additional time under anesthesia, additional or larger incisions and/or increased complications. Individual surgical results may vary. Patients who are not candidates for non-robotic minimally invasive surgery are also not candidates for da Vinci Surgery. Ask your doctor to decide if surgery is right for you. Patients and doctors should review all available information on non-surgical and surgical options in order to make an informed decision. Please also refer to www.davincisurgery.com/safety for important safety information.