Colonoscopy Fact Sheet

Colonoscopy is a procedure that enables your surgeon to examine the lining of the rectum and colon. It is usually done in the hospital or an endoscopic procedure room. A soft, bendable tube about the thickness of the index finger is gently inserted into the anus and advanced into the rectum and the colon.

Colonoscopy has two main functions.
The first is prevention or early detection of bowel disease/cancer. It is recommended that people over the age of 50 should have a colonoscopy every five years.

The other main function of colonoscopy is to diagnose illness. Problems such as rectal bleeding, dark stools, chronic diarrhoea, persistent and unexplained abdominal pain, iron deficiency anaemia, substantial weight loss with accompanying gastrointestinal symptoms, or a personal or family history of colon cancer can all be evaluated through colonoscopy