Treatment for Rectal Bleeding Caused by Polyps

One of the culprits behind rectal bleeding may be a colon polyp. Polyps are clusters of cells that eventually form into protrusions along the lining of your colon. As you age or gain an excess amount of weight, you're more likely to develop polyps than other people. However, smoking and poor dietary habits (foods low in fiber) can also contribute to this condition. With colon polyps, treatment is available to eliminate these protrusions from your larger intestine.

Colonoscopy

• If you experience bleeding from the rectum, contact your physician as soon as possible so she can determine the source of the bleeding. After other, less intrusive tests are performed--such as a barium enema or a sigmoidoscopy--a colonoscopy may be needed to determine the source of the bleeding. You will be put under an anesthetic as a long tube--or colonoscope--is inserted into your colon. If a colon polyp is found at this time, it can usually be removed during the procedure.

  Removal is usually done through "snaring" with the colonoscope, which is fitted with a wire loop that both severs and cauterizes the polyp. Not only does it detach the protrusion from your colon, but it also seals the wound at the same time to avoid blood loss.

  In some situations, it may be difficult to use the colonoscope, so an endoscopic mucosal resection may be necessary. This treatment is very similar to snaring, but, before the polyp is removed, saline is injected into wall of your intestines just under the protrusion. The infusion of saline brings the polyp away from the colon, allowing for easier extraction.

  After the polyp has been removed, it's typically tested. Colon polyps can be either benign or malignant, so your doctor will want to discern whether or not you're suffering from an early stage of colon cancer. Subsequent treatment is dictated by the results of the test.

Surgery

• If your physician is unable to remove the polyp during the colonoscopy, you'll need to return at a later date to have the cluster of cells surgically removed. Surgery for polyp removal isn't as invasive as other methods of extraction, since the procedure is done laparoscopically.

  With laparoscopic polyp removal, a series of small incisions are made in your abdomen where instruments are then inserted to actually remove the portion of the colon containing the polyp (or polyps). It's essentially a form of resection, where a "diseased" area is removed and the ends of the organ are reattached. By removing the section of the colon that contains the polyps, you're reducing the chances of recurrence.