Colonoscopy

At DSA Gastroenterology, we consider provision of the highest quality colonoscopy to be one of our main roles.

Colonoscopy is an essential tool in the prevention of bowel cancer, as well as in its diagnosis.

Clinical evidence has convincingly demonstrated the effectiveness of colonoscopy in reducing mortality from bowel cancer.

The ability of colonoscopy to be an effective bowel cancer prevention tool depends on the doctor performing a high quality examination. In the real world, the quality of colonoscopy procedures vary greatly amongst practitioners, and may not be of sufficient quality to achieve the aim of cancer prevention.

At DSA Gastroenterology, we are passionate about optimising key elements of a high quality colonoscopy service, such as:

Optimising the patient bowel cleansing regimen to allow the best visualisation of even small polyps in the colon.
Carefully examining the colon, with universal adherence to the benchmark of colonoscope withdrawal time (time taken to examine the bowel lining for polyps once the instrument has been inserted to the end of the colon) exceeding 6 minutes.
Consistently achieving high rates of detection of pre-cancerous polyps (referred to as adenoma detection rate and serrated lesion detection rate), with ongoing auditing of these measures.
Completely removing all pre-cancerous polyps by the most up-to-date and evidence based methods of removal.
Providing detailed procedure reports to referring doctors that include information on the indicators of quality, with embedded photo documentation of important findings.
Recommending evidence-based surveillance intervals for future procedures, and the justification for the recommended intervals.
Providing a detailed summary of pathology findings to referring doctors.
Maintaining a patient recall register to allow patients to be reminded when their next colonoscopy is due via both SMS and regular mail.
Organising rapid referral to other specialists and scheduling of scans and tests in the unfortunate circumstance that colonoscopy identifies a cancer that requires further management.

All DSA Gastroenterology doctors are highly trained colonoscopists, accredited and regularly re-certified by the CCRTGE (Conjoint Committee for the Recognition of Training in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy).

Colonoscopy is generally a safe procedure. As with all procedures, there are potential risks to the patient, such as bleeding and damage to the lining of the bowel (perforation). The team of gastroenterologists at DSA Gastroenterology are trained to minimise these risks, and manage complications in the rare situation one may occur.

Please click on this link to read more detail about colonoscopy and risks.