The Gastroenterology Department is a unit where the normal function and diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum, pancreas, gallbladder, biliary tract, and liver are examined.
Atlas University Hospital Gastroenterology Department provides diagnostic and treatment services by taking advantage of the facilities provided by modern technological devices and specialist doctors and related health personnel in their field.
The main symptoms of gastroenterological diseases are burning in the stomach, heartburn, bitter water in the mouth, abdominal pain, burning in the middle of the rib cage, nausea, vomiting, cough that does not go away, feeling uncomfortable when certain foods are consumed, diarrhea, constipation, bleeding from the mouth, bleeding from the anus, having difficulty defecating, a change in the habit of defecating, yellowing of the skin color and white of the eyes, itching, sometimes weakness and weight loss.
Our team of specialists in the field provides services in the diagnosis and treatment of dyspepsia (indigestion), abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, reflux, stomach complaints (often burning sensation in the stomach; gastritis, etc.), gastric and duodenal ulcer, stomach and intestinal bleeding, colitis, Crohn’s (Inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, etc.), polyps in the gastrointestinal tract (colon, stomach, etc.), liver and biliary tract diseases (hepatitis, jaundice, cirrhosis, biliary tract stones), food allergies and food sensitivity (celiac disease, lactose intolerance, etc.), pancreatic diseases and gastrointestinal system cancers (oesophageal, stomach, intestine, liver, biliary tract and pancreatic cancers) and other digestive system-related complaints and illnesses such as these.
Polyps of Colon
Polyps are pieces of meat that develop from abnormal growth of the layer (mucosa) covering the surface of the large intestine and grow into the intestinal canal. In Western society, their frequency increases after 50; in people over 60, their frequency reaches 30%. It is accepted that 95% of colon cancers comprise colon polyps. Colon cancers are the third most common cancer in Western societies and the second leading cause of death.
Cancer is seen in adenomatous polyps. These subgroups are tubular adenoma, tubulovillous adenoma, and villous adenoma. It takes 8-10 years for a polyp to become cancerous. While the risk of cancer in a single polyp is 8%, this risk increases to 37% in the presence of 10 polyps. As the diameter of the polyline increases, the risk of cancer also increases. For example, in polyps exceeding 2 cm in length, this rate is between 35-47%, depending on the pathological type. Since polyps are cancerous structures, removing them before they become cancer protects the person from bowel cancer.
What Are The Symptoms of Polyps?
Usually, there are no symptoms, and polyps are found during examination of the large intestine with a stained film (contrast-enhanced colon radiography) or colonoscopy. In some polyps, there may be discharge and rectal bleeding. There may be complaints about obstruction of the intestine in massive polyps, such as constipation and abdominal swelling.
In villous adenomas, on the other hand, diarrhea and associated potassium loss, as a result of which weakness and heart rhythm problems may occur. Sometimes polyps bleed little by little for a long time. Polyps can be detected during a colonoscopy while investigating the cause of anemia that develops in a person without visible bleeding.
DIAGNOSIS
A positive result from looking at hidden blood in the stool may indicate the presence of a polyp, but a negative impact also does not mean that there are no polyps. The presence of polyps can be detected by contrast-enhanced colon X-ray and virtual colonoscopy. However, polyps detected in these methods cannot be intervened.
In the sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy procedure, the doctor sees the inside of the intestine directly on a screen similar to a television screen with a bendable tube with a camera at the end. The first 60 cm is observed during the sigmoidoscopy procedure. In the colonoscopy procedure, the entire large intestine and the last part of the small intestine are seen. In these procedures, painkillers and sedatives are given to the patient so that the person does not feel discomfort during the process.
Currently, colonoscopy is recommended for people over the age of 50 to prevent colon cancer. If the polyp is not detected in the first procedures (sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy) and there are no particular complaints, it is sufficient to repeat these procedures every five years.
Polyps detected during colonoscopy can be removed entirely by burning with devices connected to the cautery, which are advanced inside a colonoscope device called a hot biopsy or snare. The removed polyps are examined in pathology, and the patient follow-up frequency is determined according to its subgroup.
If the polyp was detected during sigmoidoscopy, a colonoscopy should also be performed to see other parts of the intestine. The use of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which is used for follow-up in patients with a cancer diagnosis, for screening purposes is incorrect. The diagnostic value of genetic tests performed from feces in polyps and cancer is unclear; nowadays, they are not recommended alone for screening and diagnosis.
Who is Especially Recommended for Colonoscpy?
- It is recommended as a screening test for people over 50. This age limit may be 40 for those who have colon cancer/Polybius in a first-degree relative,
- Those with a history of colon cancer,
- Those with a history of large intestinal polyps,
- Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease (the risk increases in those who are sick for more than eight years),
- Those with breast, ovarian and uterine cancer,
- Those with unexplained abdominal pain,
- Those who have changed their defecation habits,
- People with unexplained iron deficiency,
- Bleeding from the anus is not thought to be due to hemorrhoids, even if it is under 50.
