Colorectal surgery
Colorectal surgery is a field in medicine dealing with disorders of the
Physicians specializing in this field of medicine are called colorectal surgeons or proctologists. In the United States, to become colorectal surgeons, surgical doctors have to complete a general surgery residency as well as a colorectal surgery fellowship, upon which they are eligible to be certified in their field of expertise by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery or the American Osteopathic Board of Proctology. In other countries, certification to practice proctology is given to surgeons at the end of a 2–3 year subspecialty residency by the country's board of surgery.
Scope of the specialty
Colorectal surgical disorders include:[2]
- varicosities or swelling, and inflammation of veins in the rectum and anus (hemorrhoids)
- unnatural cracks or tears in the anus (anal fissures)
- abnormal connections or passageways between the rectum or other anorectal area to the skin surface (fistulas)
- severe constipation conditions
- fecal incontinence
- protrusion of the walls of the rectum through the anus (rectal prolapse)
- birth defects such as the imperforate anus
- treatment of severe colic disorders, such as Crohn's disease
- cancer of the colon and rectum (colorectal cancer)
- repositioning of the rectal area if fallen out
- anal cancer
- any injuries to the anus
- removal of objects inserted into anus
- performing colonoscopies
- performing hemorrhoidectomies
Surgical treatment and diagnostic procedures
Surgical forms of treatment for these conditions include:
Mechanical bowel preparation
Mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) is a procedure lacking evidence in literature,[4] wherein fecal matter is expelled from the bowel lumen prior to surgery, most commonly by using sodium phosphate.[5]
In popular culture
In the Seinfeld episode "The Fusilli Jerry", Kramer erroneously gets the vanity plate "ASSMAN". He later finds out the plate belongs to a proctologist. Kramer claims the proctologists he has met always talk about patients concocting absurd stories of how an item accidentally ended up in their colon to avoid admitting that they deliberately inserted the object into their anus.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "Colon and Rectal Surgery Specialty Description". American Medical Association. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ "Digestive Tract: Rectal and Colon Diseases and Conditions". Cleveland Clinic.
- ^ "What is minimally invasive surgery?". ccalliance.org. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
- PMID 17853636.
- S2CID 138004.
- ^ "The Fusilli Jerry". Seinfeld. Season 6. Episode 20. 1995-04-27. Transcript. Retrieved 2018-12-17.