As many as 40% of American adults have colon polyps, fleshy growths that form along the lining of your large intestine (colon). While most polyps are completely benign, some turn into cancer over time, which makes management especially important.
Polyps are typically discovered during a colonoscopy procedure. Our team at Digestive Disease Specialists in Moline, Illinois, and Bettendorf, Iowa, performs colonoscopies routinely to evaluate our patients for polyps as well as other abnormal lesions that could be associated with an early stage of colorectal cancer.
Here’s what you need to know about next steps if we find polyps during your colonoscopy.
The inside lining of your colon is relatively smooth, without large bumps or protrusions. Polyps are abnormal tissue growths that form along this smooth lining inside your colon or rectum. They can range in size and shape from very small to quite large and form for different reasons.
Polyps are grouped into two main categories: neoplastic polyps that can develop into cancer and non-neoplastic polyps that don’t develop into cancer.
Most polyps don’t cause any symptoms, and you won’t even know you have them until they’re found during a colonoscopy or have grown to a very large size. Rarely, they may cause symptoms like blood in your stool, rectal bleeding, or changes in bowel habits, like chronic diarrhea or constipation.
While anyone can develop polyps, they tend to be more common among those with risk factors that include:
They’re also more common among people with chronic inflammation, including people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
If your colonoscopy reveals polyps, your doctor removes them during your colonoscopy procedure. The instrument used to remove the polyps is deployed through the colonoscope, so there’s no need for a separate procedure.
Once the polyps are removed, they’re evaluated under a microscope to determine if they’re neoplastic or non-neoplastic. In addition to evaluating the polyps themselves, your doctor will make note of how many polyps you have, how big they are, and where they’re located. Based on all these results, we recommend next steps.
For precancerous (neoplastic) polyps, we may recommend additional testing, along with more frequent colonoscopies to monitor your colon and look for new neoplastic polyps that may develop.
We might also recommend more frequent colonoscopies if you have a lot of polyps, very large polyps, or if you have certain subtypes of neoplastic polyps associated with colorectal cancer.
For noncancerous polyps, typically you won’t need any treatment, and you’ll probably be able to wait 10 years before having your next colonoscopy.
Regardless of the type of polyps you have, if you’re prone to developing these fleshy growths, you’ll probably develop them in the future.
Making lifestyle changes like following a healthy diet, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol intake, and engaging in regular physical activity can help reduce your risk.
Having a colonoscopy is the best way to find and remove polyps and an important part of cancer prevention. To schedule your colonoscopy procedure, book an appointment online or over the phone with Digestive Disease Specialists today.
