Surgery Overview
Resection is another name for any surgery that removes tissue or part of an organ. Bowel resection removes a diseased or damaged part of the small intestine, large intestine (colon), or rectum. Bowel resection can be done for many diseases that affect the colon, such as colorectal cancer, diverticulitis, or Crohn's disease.
The goal of bowel resection is to take out the part of the bowel where the problem is. If the doctor is removing cancer from the colon, nearby lymph nodes are taken out and tested for cancer. Then healthy ends of the colon or rectum are sewn back together. Bowel resection is done either by opening the abdomen (open resection) or by laparoscopy.
Laparoscopy for bowel resection usually involves 3 to 6 very small incisions instead of one large one. Recovery time is often faster.
You and your doctor will think about several things in deciding whether you should have open resection or a laparoscopy. These include:
- The location and extent of the disease.
- Your general health.
- Whether you have scar tissue in the area from previous surgery.
- Your doctor's expertise and experience.
Sometimes a laparoscopic surgery has to be changed to an open resection during the surgery.
