For colorectal cancer, surgery is the most common treatment. The type of surgery depends on where the cancer is found. If colon cancer is found in a polyp, the polyp often is removed using a colon scope in a procedure called a polypectomy. If a larger area is affected, abdominal surgery may be needed to remove the tumor along with the healthy colon or rectum and nearby lymph nodes. In most cases, the doctor is able to reconnect the remaining healthy portions of the colon or rectum. In less than five percent of cases, that is not possible and a colostomy may be necessary. A colostomy creates a surgical opening through the wall of the abdomen into the colon to provide a new path for waste material to leave the body.

Over the past decade, Jefferson specialists have provided national leadership in developing new methods of reducing colostomy rates. Patients whose only option may once have been a colostomy now have other choices. Preoperative radiation therapy and innovative surgical techniques help retain the natural function of the muscles that control bowel movements, thereby dramatically reducing the need for a colostomy. Every attempt is made to preserve the sphincter muscle whenever possible.

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For more information, please see the Division of Colorectal Surgery