Colon Cancer Surgery

Colon cancer is regarded as one of the frequent cancers that can later on result to death. With surgery, it is easier to manage the disease and its accompanying symptoms. Surgery is believed to be the traditional treatment of internal organs though there are certain risks involved. However, surgery will only be recommended by the surgeon according to the stage and location of the colon cancer.

The Different Categories of Surgery

Colon cancer surgery can be categorized into palliative, curative, fecal diversion, bypass, or open-and-close. If the tumor is localized to only one area of the colon, the surgeon will prefer curative surgery. This can be used in cases wherein the polyp is still at its early stage. At the time of the colonoscopy, the surgeon will remove the polyp, a process known as polypectomy. If the tumor is at its more advanced stage, the surgeon can also prefer curative surgery but the procedure would require the surgical removal of the section of the colon where to tumor developed. After cutting the affected section of the colon, the surgeon will reconnect both ends of the remaining colon to create a functional colon. If connecting both ends is not possible, the surgeon will create an opening in the abdomen, called stoma. It is where the waste products will exit the body. If the cancer cells have already spread to other areas of the body, the colon cancer surgery that the surgeon will perform is the palliative resection of the tumor. This is performed to reduce the chances of morbidity that is associated with the invasion and bleeding of the tumor. If the involved organ is the liver, the surgeon will have to surgically remove the isolated liver metastases. Chemotherapy is usually used before the surgery to shrink the tumor and after the surgery to serve as an adjunct therapy.

If the tumor has already invaded the nearby structures, performing a palliative resection becomes difficult. So the surgeon would prefer to perform a fecal diversion or would bypass the tumor.

The open-and-close surgery is performed only in worse cases wherein the surgeon would find the tumor unresectable. This can also be used when the small bowel is already involved. If this is the case, performing a surgery on the patient would do more harm than good. However, with the advent of radiological imaging and laparoscopy, this problem becomes uncommon. Risks and Complications of Colon Cancer Surgery

Just like any other types of surgeries, surgery for colon cancer holds possible complications. These are as follows:

* Wound Infection. Wound infection is common to all surgeries because surgeries have to create an opening in the skin. This opening can get infected if no proper wound care is done. Also, if during the surgery, proper aseptic technique is not practiced, wound infection will most likely occur. The best way to prevent wound infection is by practicing proper aseptic technique during surgery and by educating the patient on proper wound care during the post-op phase.

* Wound dehiscence. This means that the surgical suture will break open or burst. This is a result of poor wound healing, poor blood supply to the wound, physical stress, grabbing of stitches, poor knotting, obesity, and wound trauma after surgery.

* Bleeding. Since a surgical wound is made during the process of the surgery, then possible complication after the operation would be bleeding. That is why during the post-op stage, it is always important to check the dressing for presence of bleeding.

* Adjacent organ injury. Just like any other surgeries, colon cancer surgery holds the risk of causing injury to the nearby organs during the operation. Organs that can be punctured during the operation are the spleen, small intestine, bladder, and ureter.

* Cardio respiratory complications that can occur after the surgery include pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, and arrythmia.

If you opt for colon cancer surgery, ask for a suggestion from your attending physician. More often than not, it is them who would recommend you to undergo surgery to alleviate the condition and its accompanying symptoms. It would be up to you to weigh the positive results of the surgery and the risks that it can bring.

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