Colorectal Surgery
Colorectal surgery covers two very different things. At one end, piles, fissures and fistula, extremely common and almost never discussed, most treated as day cases. At the other, resection of part of the bowel for disease or tumour. Both are done here, and the same rule applies to each: bleeding is investigated, never assumed.
- Day-care treatment for piles and fissures
- Laparoscopic bowel resection where suitable
- Colonoscopy in the same department
- Private, unhurried consultations
Stay
Day care to 5 days, depending on the operation
Duration
30 minutes to 3 hours
Anaesthesia
Spinal or general
About Colorectal Surgery
Most people who arrive have managed a problem for years before asking. The common conditions respond well and often need only a short procedure. Where bowel resection is required, it is done laparoscopically wherever the case allows, which shortens the stay considerably. Continence is the outcome that matters most in this area, and operations are planned around protecting it.
- Piles and fissures are usually treated as day cases
- Bowel resection done laparoscopically where suitable
- Continence is protected as the first priority in fistula surgery
- Bleeding is always investigated rather than attributed to piles
Before you read on
Everything here is general information about colorectal surgery. Whether it suits you, and how it would be done in your case, is a decision for your doctor after examining you.
Your consultant's instructions always take precedence over anything written on this page.
When is it recommended?
Situations in which a doctor may suggest colorectal surgery.
- Haemorrhoids not settling with diet and medication
- Anal fissure causing persistent pain
- Anal fistula or recurrent abscess
- Pilonidal sinus
- Inflammatory bowel disease needing surgery
- Colon or rectal tumours
- Chronic constipation with an anatomical cause
Procedure details
The usual sequence, from first consultation through to follow-up.
Assessment
An examination, usually proctoscopy, and a colonoscopy where bleeding or a change in bowel habit needs excluding as anything else.
Choosing the operation
The procedure is matched to the problem, from a short day-care treatment to a laparoscopic resection, and explained with its recovery.
Surgery
Day-care procedures take under an hour under spinal anaesthesia. Resections take longer and are done under general anaesthesia.
Recovery
Day cases go home the same day with stool softeners and pain relief. After resection, diet and mobility are advanced over several days.
How to prepare
What to sort out before you come in.
- A colonoscopy is often arranged before surgery to confirm the diagnosis
- Bowel preparation is needed before resection but not usually for day-care procedures
- Stop blood thinners only on instruction from the surgical team
- Start a high-fibre diet and stool softeners before day-care procedures if advised
- Arrange somebody to take you home
Recovery
What to expect afterwards, and roughly when.
- Discomfort for several days after piles or fissure surgery is normal and expected
- Stool softeners and a high-fibre diet make the first bowel motions much easier
- Sitz baths help considerably after anal procedures
- After resection, expect four to five days in hospital and gradual return of bowel function
- Report heavy bleeding, fever or inability to pass urine immediately
Why choose Humayun for colorectal surgery
Two things decide the quality of this service: treating the common problems well, and never assuming bleeding is only piles.
- Bleeding investigated with colonoscopy rather than treated on assumption, because piles and bowel disease coexist
- Day-care pathways for piles and fissures, with most patients home the same day
- Fistula surgery planned to protect continence, which is the risk that matters most
- Consultations given the privacy the subject needs
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