Then get up, go to the bathroom and evacuate the enema and bowel contents. Repeat this thirty minutes later, and then come to the office for you appointment. The Flexible Sigmoidoscope. Inside the scope is a fiberoptic cable which transmits light into the colon and allows the physician to look at the colonic tissue. The instrument is flexible, so that it can go around curves in the intestine.
Flexible sigmoidoscopy is an examination of the lower colon and rectum.
The American Cancer Society recommends that everyone over the age of 40 to 50 have this test every three to five years, in order to detect polyps which might become cancerous. If polyps are identified, before they have turned into cancer, the polyps can be removed and the cancer prevented. During the examination, the patient lies on his or her side, while the physician passes the instrument through the anus and rectum, then up into the descending colon. The doctor introduces a small amount of air into the colon to help push back the sides of the colon and permit the examiner to see more clearly. The exam cases some intestinal cramping and the sensation of having to pass this gas.