Colonoscopy under anesthesia or without - which is better? How to prepare for a colonoscopy

In this article, we will examine how colonoscopy of the intestine is performed - under anesthesia or without anesthesia. The way of life of modern people affects the nature of the most common diseases. Therefore, because of unhealthy eating, along with a sedentary lifestyle, doctors increasingly register diseases in the lower regions of the digestive system. But if before doctors could examine the intestines only by the method of palpation, having felt the stomach of patients, then modern specialists have a more extensive choice of diagnostic methods.

Many people are asking themselves what is better - colonoscopy with or without anesthesia?

Colonoscopy as part of the diagnosis of

A progressive procedure for assessing the general condition of the large intestine in humans today is a procedure called colonoscopy. It is an examination of the digestive system of patients through a video camera, which is placed on the end of a flexible tube of a special device - an endoscope. During this procedure, the doctor centimeter by centimeter examines the patient's intestines from the inside, collecting samples for analysis in passing, in addition, removes polyps, representing various changes in the mucosa. Such polyps can degenerate into a malignant tumor. It is important to know how to prepare for a colonoscopy. About this below.

When this procedure was only introduced into the practice of state clinics, this manipulation was considered painful. Any specialist could cause considerable discomfort to the patient during the insertion of the tube. But this procedure did not presume any anesthesia. It is for this reason that many people, when they heard about the need for such a survey, tried to find a possible alternative because of the fear of pain. Where to make a colonoscopy, not everyone knows.

It is actually possible to inspect the large intestine with the help of an irrigoscopy, which is an X-ray examination, in which a contrast agent is injected into the cavity of the organ by means of an enema. Also used and computer tomography. The drawbacks of these methods include the radiation burden on the patient along with the less informative, which is today recognized worldwide as the gold standard for screening colon cancer.

Let's see what is better - a colonoscopy under anesthesia or without it?

Colonoscopy and the use of anesthesia

The problem associated with the painfulness of this procedure has already lost its relevance, as modern medical centers are offered to conduct it under anesthesia. The introduction of medications before performing the manipulation implies a different degree of anesthesia:

1. Conducting a colonoscopy under local anesthesia suggests that the tip of the endoscope is lubricated with a substance that slightly reduces discomfort during the introduction of the tube into the rectum. However, the feeling of pain during the procedure, as a rule, can be caused not by direct contact of the device with the mucous membrane, but by pumping air into the intestine. Unfortunately, local anesthesia does not relieve this discomfort.
2. Colonoscopy during sleep. For such an option, the procedures use superficial anesthesia, in other words - sedation. The patient is given a drug that has a hypnotic effect. Under his influence, unpleasant sensations are greatly dulled, and the examination itself is quite painless. It is not necessary to use an anesthesia machine. Also, you do not have to stay in the clinic for a long time after a colonoscopy, as the impact of anesthesia passes very quickly, and there is no memory of the procedure.
3. Colonoscopy using general anesthesia. This kind of diagnosis is carried out in the operating room. Patients under the supervision of an anesthesiologist are immersed in deep sleep. This sleep lasts, as a rule, a little longer than the procedure itself. This option is usually used to examine people who have a low threshold of pain sensitivity, as well as against the adhesion of the bowel disease, when they do a colonoscopy to a child under the age of twelve. Let's consider what indications at the given procedure.

Indications for colonoscopy with anesthesia

People often ask: "Which is better - a colonoscopy under anesthesia or without?".Most often, patients prefer to stop their choice on such a diagnosis with the use of anesthesia in the form of sedation. This method is painless and excludes probable complications of general anesthesia. As a rule, referral to this examination is given by the attending physician-therapist or a narrow specialist who notices deviations in the state of health of his patient. So, a colonoscopy under anesthesia is prescribed in a number of the following situations:

• a low level of hemoglobin in a general analysis, that is, anemia without any obvious reasons;
• presence of bleeding in the intestine or black stool;
• problems associated with bowel movement, which are expressed in chronic constipation, diarrhea, sensation of a foreign body in the rectum region and the like;
• a regular feeling of bowel overflow, which is accompanied by increased gas production along with a chronic digestive disorder;
• unexplained weight loss along with increased fatigue;
• exceeded the norm of specific oncomarkers as a result of a blood test;
• examination of patients suffering from ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease;
• examination of people from the risk of developing tumors in the large intestine.

These patients include relatives in whose families cases of oncological bowel diseases occurred. Also in this category are people who have been treated for cancer in the past.

It should be emphasized that a screening colonoscopy can be shown to all people who are over forty-five years old. Starting from the specified age, it is recommended to undergo this procedure annually.

Instructions before colonoscopy can be obtained from your doctor.

Contraindications to the procedure of

Despite the fact that colonoscopy under general anesthesia is a common procedure, some people will still better refuse this diagnosis. So, the examination is contraindicated in the following cases:

• in the presence of acute infectious diseases;
• peritonitis or suspected of it;
• severe blood clotting disorder;
• late stage heart failure;
• presence of stenoses of the heart valves;
• allergy to anesthetic medications;
• neurological and psychiatric diseases;
• epilepsy;
• during pregnancy.

It should be noted that none of these conditions is not a complete contraindication to performing a colonoscopy examination under anesthesia. It is extremely important to discuss with the endoscopist the individual characteristics of the organism so that the specialist can make a decision about the advisability of diagnosing, taking into account the possible advantages and risks of the procedure. In the case of the appointment of a study, it is necessary to pay attention to the preparatory measures. Such a measure will help to facilitate the task of the doctor, in addition, will positively affect the patient's condition during and after the procedure.

How to prepare for a colonoscopy?

Given that during the diagnosis the doctor will examine the colon, it is extremely important to pre-clean the mucosa. The desired effect is difficult to achieve with an enema. That's why patients are advised to prepare in advance with the help of diets and medicines, sold in any pharmacy. Correct preparation for diagnostic colonoscopy usually consists of the following two steps:

1. Three days before the procedure, it is required to abandon the use of fatty meat. It is forbidden to eat fish along with dairy products, cereals, cereals, rye bread. It is also important to give up fresh fruits and vegetables. Alcoholic drinks, carbonated water, spicy seasonings and canned food are forbidden. It is allowed to eat white bread and broths together with lean meat, eggs, pasta, rice, boiled potatoes, butter. Drink while you can juice or kissel. Cleansing the colon for colonoscopy is important.
2. On the eve of the procedure, the patient should take a laxative. Within the preparation of the intestine, a solution of polyethylene glycol or preparations such as Dufalac and Fortrans is prescribed for the examination. In addition, a person will need to drink two liters of fluid on the eve of the examination. Two more liters are drunk on the day of the procedure in the event that it is scheduled for the afternoon. If less than 24 hours are left for preparation, the whole volume of the solution is drunk from four to eight o'clock in the evening.

Preparation for anesthesia with a colonoscopy is carried out directly on the day of the procedure itself. In the morning, you should give up eating and drinking. It is also important to remove contact lenses with dentures before proper handling.

Where can I get a colonoscopy? The procedure can be performed in any medical institution or diagnostic center.

Under anesthesia

In the procedure room, patients are asked to remove clothing below the waist. The person is laid on the left side on the couch. Thus the patient should tighten the knees to a breast. Next, the anesthesiologist enters the drug for anesthesia in a vein, after which the patient falls asleep. According to general feelings, this usually looks like an ordinary dream, however, very short. In this period of time, the doctor introduces a lubricated with a special oil tip.

The endoscope is inserted through the anus in the rectum. The device then enters the large intestine. With the help of an image that is displayed on the screen of the monitor, a specialist examines the mucous membrane. If the need arises, the doctor may stop to take a picture, or remove the polyp, or take a sample. After the examination, the doctor takes the tube from the intestine, and the anesthesiologist awakens the patient and is interested in his state of health.

Duration

The total duration of a colonoscopy procedure using narcosis on a sedative is from fifteen to thirty minutes. Usually patients thus feel well, noting only mild weakness after awakening. Immediately after the completion of this procedure, a person can drink or eat food, and after half an hour he is sent home or to work.

What are the possible complications after a colonoscopy?

In the vast majority of situations, colonoscopy is performed without any complications. The patient does not experience discomfort, pain, bloating, or severe weakness. But in the event that these symptoms are noticed immediately or a few hours after this procedure, if the patient has a fever and has nausea along with spotting from the rectum, you should immediately seek medical help.

Rare but very dangerous complications include damage to the intestinal wall and stopping breathing during anesthesia, rupture of the spleen and infection of the patient with hepatitis B, as well as other infectious diseases. For this reason, it is extremely important to take responsibility for choosing a clinic where colonoscopy is planned. To give preference to a medical institution, which is famous for its impeccable reputation, great experience in carrying out this manipulation.

Price of colonoscopy

The cost of this procedure with anesthesia in Russian clinics varies from 4000 to 20,000 rubles. Such a large gap in the price is associated not only with the level and quality of the equipment, it depends on the service in one or another medical institution, from different approaches to the formation of the cost of the presented methodology.

As a rule, clinics that offer the lowest price of a colonoscopy do not include in the price payment for anesthesia and the work of an anesthesiologist. Also, the diagnostic and therapeutic manipulations required during the procedure may not be taken into account. For example, we are talking about taking samples of the mucosa with their further histological examination, removal of small polyps and the like. The total cost of this method of diagnosis is very impressive and unexpected for patients.

Costly consultation

In other cases, the attractive cost of colonoscopy under anesthesia can be combined with expensive consultation of gastroenterologists, without which the passage of this procedure according to the rules of the clinic is considered impossible. Therefore, patients should clarify all conditions for colonoscopy beforehand, do not hesitate to ask additional questions. Do not forget that you should not save on diagnostics, because health depends on the quality of the specialist's work and general standards of medical care.

And yet, which is better - a colonoscopy under anesthesia or without it, the doctor should decide.