COLON

Colon cancer

Colon cancer is one of the most frequent tumour of the alimentary tract. First colonoscopy screening test is advised at 50 years of age. Diagnosis is obtained on biopsies during colonoscopy. Pre-operative work-up consists of thoraco-abdominal CT-scan to assess local or distant metastatic lesions. Depending of the location of the tumour, an appropriate resection of the large bowel is advised using the laparoscopic robotic technology.

Ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but only mucosal lesions are found, located in the rectum and/or the colon but not in the small bowel. First line of treatment is medical (steroids and/or immuno-suppressive drugs). In cases of failure or complications, surgical resection is advised (removal of the rectum and entire colon, ileal-pouch anal procedure).

Crohn's disease

Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is characterized by full thickness wall lesions of the small and/or large intestine, along with anal lesions. First line of treatment is medical (steroids and/or immuno-suppressive drugs). In cases of failure or complications, laparoscopic surgical resection is advised.

Diverticular disease

In Western countries, most of the people over 60 years of age, have sigmoid or colonic diverticula at colonoscopy. In cases of acute inflammation (sigmoid diverticulitis), antibiotic therapy is mandatory. After two or more acute episodes, elective sigmoid resection is advised using laparoscopic robotic technology.