Colorectal Surgeon Phoenix diagnoses and treats conditions affecting your large intestine (colon, rectum and anus). They also provide care when non-surgical treatments for a problem don’t work.

Many people have questions about surgery, especially when it involves the colon. Your surgeon can answer your questions and explain the procedure. He or she can also help you manage pain after surgery.

Hemorrhoids are inflamed, swollen blood vessels located in and around the anus and lower rectum. They are a common condition, and they can cause pain and discomfort for many people. Hemorrhoids are not dangerous, but they can lead to other more serious conditions, including rectal cancer. Fortunately, they are usually not difficult to treat.

Hemorrhoid symptoms are often embarrassing to talk about, but they are nothing to be ashamed of. Hemorrhoids develop when the tiny blood vessels and veins in and around the anus and rectum get swollen and start to protrude, just like varicose veins in the legs. These tissues are carrying deoxygenated blood to and from the anus and rectum, but if the return blood flow is hindered by straining to move your bowels or sitting for long periods of time, these vessels can stretch and bulge out, causing swelling and irritation.

Symptoms of hemorrhoids can include blood on the toilet paper, itching, or pressure and burning during bowel movements. Some patients also notice a swollen, knobbly appearance to the anus or rectum. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, you may need to visit your colorectal surgeon for treatment.

There are several treatments for hemorrhoids, and most of them involve little to no downtime. For example, you may be able to have an internal hemorrhoid removed with a surgical procedure called J-pouch surgery, in which your colorectal surgeon creates a pouch shaped like the letter J from your small intestine and attaches it to your rectum. After the hemorrhoid has healed, your colon and rectal surgeon will close the temporary ostomy.

Some patients require a more invasive method to treat their hemorrhoids, such as stapling. In this minimally invasive procedure, your colorectal surgeon uses a special tool to cut off the blood supply to your hemorrhoid and help it shrink or dissolve.

Other types of hemorrhoid treatment are less invasive and can be performed in your doctor’s office. For instance, you might have a simple solution injected into the affected hemorrhoid to clot it off and help it shrink or dissolve. For those who are plagued with thrombosed external hemorrhoids, which are the most serious type of hemorrhoids, you may need to undergo a procedure called a thrombectomy under general anesthesia.

Inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is an autoimmune condition that causes chronic inflammation of the lining of your colon and rectum. It can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, and other symptoms. It can be treated with medications and lifestyle changes, but it may require surgery if medications don’t relieve symptoms.

IBD includes two serious diseases: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. They are both considered inflammatory bowel diseases because they can affect any part of your digestive tract, but they generally attack the large intestine (colon or rectum).

When you have IBD, your body’s immune system mistakenly attacks parts of your gastrointestinal tract. This results in ongoing inflammation and a cycle of remission and flare-ups.

Over time, this can lead to colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease complications, such as blood in the stool or abscesses in the rectum, and weight loss. In addition to medication, doctors can recommend diet and exercise, stress management, and other lifestyle changes that may help you manage your symptoms.

Doctors diagnose IBD with a combination of tests and a physical exam. For example, they might order an upper endoscopy, which involves passing a long, flexible tube with a camera lens through your mouth and esophagus and into your stomach and small intestine. This gives doctors a clear view of these areas and allows them to take samples of tissue, called biopsies. They might also ask for a sample of your stool to look for inflammation or infection.

A colonoscopy is another important test for IBD. During this procedure, doctors insert a thin, flexible instrument with a camera lens through several tiny incisions in your abdomen. They can also remove polyps, which are growths that might turn into cancer over time, from the lining of your bowel.

In severe cases of IBD, colorectal surgeons can perform surgery to remove the affected colon or rectum and reconnect healthy tissue. This can reduce symptoms, improve your quality of life, and help you go into remission. They may also recommend a colostomy, which is when you eliminate stool through a bag that attaches to your abdomen on the outside of your body.

Cancer

Colorectal cancer is a disease that starts in the large intestine, also known as the colon or the lower part of the abdomen. During digestion, food moves from the stomach and small intestine into the colon. The colon absorbs water and nutrients and stores waste matter, which is eventually released from the body as stool.

If you have colon or rectal cancer, the surgeon will first determine whether it is localized to just one area of your colon or if it has spread to other areas of your body. This is done by doing a physical exam, examining your medical history and running tests. These include blood tests, X-rays and a tissue sample or polyp removed from your colon.

Once the doctor knows the stage of your cancer, he or she will decide on an appropriate treatment plan. The plan will depend on the location and stage of your tumor, as well as other factors like your age and family history of colon cancer.

Your doctor may recommend a procedure called a colonoscopy to examine your large intestine for any abnormalities. This is the most sensitive test to detect colon and rectal cancer. During a colonoscopy, your doctor will insert a long, flexible tube with a tiny video camera on its end into the rectum and colon. The video camera can detect any irregularities that require attention.

A colonoscopy can be done using a laparoscopic approach, which involves making small cuts in your abdomen with instruments through ports in the abdominal wall. You will have less pain after surgery and will recover faster with this method. It can also be done with robot-assisted surgery, which has the same benefits with fewer incisions and faster recovery.

If you’re diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer, your doctor will probably prescribe chemotherapy and radiation to shrink the tumor before surgically removing it. This is called neoadjuvant therapy and can reduce the amount of surgery you need. The type of chemotherapy you receive will depend on the type of cancer and other factors, such as your general health status.

Abdominal pain

Abdominal pain is discomfort anywhere from below the ribs to the pelvis, a region that houses organs including the stomach, liver, pancreas, small and large bowel, reproductive organs and major blood vessels. The severity can range from mild to severe. Many times, abdominal pain goes away without surgery or becomes less painful over time, such as after a bowel operation. When the pain does not go away, or is so intense that it interferes with daily activities, a colorectal surgeon may be needed.

The most common causes of abdominal pain are digestion problems or disease in the digestive tract. Inflammation or blockage can be caused by conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis), gallstones, or kidney stones. Infections such as appendicitis or pneumonia can also cause abdominal pain. In women, ovarian cysts or pelvic inflammatory disease may be to blame.

Typically, a colorectal surgeon will begin to assess your pain by asking you questions about where you are feeling it and how often you are experiencing it. They will also ask you if the pain is more on one side, what makes it better or worse, and if it has changed over time. Health professionals rate pain on a scale of 1 to 10, where 0 is no pain and 10 is the most severe pain you can imagine.

If the doctor suspects you might have an internal problem, they may perform tests such as a urinalysis or blood work to help identify the source of the pain. If the results show a problem such as an infection or gallstones, they may recommend surgery. If you have a condition such as irritable bowel syndrome or anal bleeding, they may prescribe medication to control the symptoms.

It is important to know that if you have bowel surgery, it takes time for your bowels to get back to normal functioning. It is also possible to develop a leak where the surgeon joins the ends of your colon together, which will require further surgery to repair. Some people also find that their bowels don’t move as quickly after surgery, which can lead to constipation. If you are experiencing these symptoms, talk to your colorectal surgeon about taking a laxative to ease the pain.