Modern diagnostics of intestinal polyps has stepped far ahead. It helps today to identify and determine the degree of development of pathology, even when it does not manifest itself in any way. Science has given mankind a chance to conduct effective cancer prevention. Therefore, each of us is simply obliged to know to which doctor to apply, how diagnostics are carried out, what analyzes will be necessary to pass in order to exclude the worst predictions.
The problems of polyps are handled by a gastroenterologist. It is necessary to address it at the first symptoms. Visual inspection begins with a conversation, as a rule, the doctor asks suggestive questions, the answers to which allow him to make a first impression of the pathology.
Methods for diagnosis of bowel polyps
The next step is palpation of the peritoneum. Tactile contact excludes suspicion of other problems of the gastrointestinal tract. If the measures described help to confirm the fear, the patient is given a sigmoidoscopy. This method of diagnosis allows you to conduct an internal examination of the intestinal tract, located at a distance of 30-45 cm from the anus.
A special syringe instrument is inserted through the anus. It looks like an ordinary metal tube, at the end of which there is optics and lighting for it. Through the cavity of the tube, you can insert special tweezers, with the help of which a biopsy of the intestinal polyp is made.
A piece of his tissue is plucked and sent to a histology. A biopsy of the intestinal polyp is performed in order to make sure that the meat growth is a benign, not a malignant tumor. To conduct a sigmoidoscopy takes, as a rule, 10-15 minutes. If the polyp is single, if it is small and conveniently located, during the examination the gastroenterologist can make a decision and perform the removal of the lesion.
Features of endoscopic diagnosis of bowel polyps
When the polyp is located further than 45 cm from the anus, a colonoscopy is used. Endoscopic diagnosis of intestinal polyps allows you to examine the site up to one meter. During the examination, not a metal tube is inserted through the anus, but a flexible thin hose, an endoscope equipped with a computer chip, an LED, a miniature video camera and attachments that biopsy the intestine polyp, remove it, and insert various injections into the walls of the hollow organ.
The patient is prepared in advance for the diagnostic procedure. Within two days he is given laxatives, and then, on the day of the operation, enemas clean the intestines. The clearer the hollow organ is from the inside, the more successful and more accurate will be the endoscopic diagnosis of intestinal polyps. It is carried out under anesthesia, so the patient practically does not feel anything. The image from the camera is displayed on the monitor, the doctor sees everything that is inside, it gives him the opportunity to act. The colonoscopy takes 15 minutes.
Indications for its conduct may be a patient's complaints of pain in the epigastric region, discharge from the anus of a small amount of blood, mucus or pus, any stool disorders. It is necessary to go through the colonoscopy procedure once a year to people over 50 years old and those who already suffered from polyposis in the family.
Other methods for diagnosing bowel polyps
In addition to the methods listed above, the following diagnostic types are performed:
- Fecal occult blood test. Three days before the patient is advised to keep a diet with a high content of products containing coarse fibers. Samples of feces are collected from several stools.
- Irrigoscopy - X-ray examination of the intestine is carried out after the introduction into it of an enema with a special luminous substance. Such diagnostics of intestinal polyps is used only to confirm the diagnosis. The procedure is performed on an empty stomach, the day before the patient is advised to refuse dinner, in the morning before x-rays can only drink still water.
- As a know-how, the method of hemoculture test is mastered. He was already actively tested in Germany and showed very good results. The essence of the method is that the patient's feces undergo various chemical reactions that can reveal even the microscopic presence of blood in it. The presence of blood in the feces is the surest symptom of polyps that do not really manifest themselves in reality.
Modern methods of diagnosis are characterized by the fact that during the necessary procedures can be immediately treated. Knowing how to determine the polyps in the intestines, many will be able to protect themselves from the development of cancer.