What Happens During a Colectomy?
This type of surgery is also called a resection. It is the most common surgery used to treat colon cancer. During it, the surgeon makes an incision in your abdomen and takes out: • the tumor • part of your colon • nearby lymph nodes Then the surgeon rejoins your colon with stitches or special staples. The connection is called an anastomosis. The surgeon closes up your abdominal wall with stitches that dissolve after several months. Your exterior skin will be closed using staples. Your doctor removes the staples in 7 to 10 days. Many people return to normal bowel function after a colectomy because other parts of the colon can take over for the part that was removed. For some earlier stage colon cancers, the surgeon may do a laparoscopic-assisted colectomy. For this operation, the surgeon makes several small incisions in the abdomen instead of one large one. The surgeon then inserts special long instruments through the incisions to remove part of the colon and lymph nodes. One of the ins
