If polyps are caught early enough, they can be removed and colon cancer can be stopped.
This new twist on colonoscopy makes it easier for doctors to detect growths that try to hide out in the colon.
Frank and Linda Smith vowed 24 years ago to stay together in sickness and in health. "I have to stay healthy for her," Frank said.
They're keeping that promise by staying one step ahead of colon cancer. "My father had colon cancer. I saw what he had to go through. I made a point then, that I was going to make sure that we did everything we could to prevent that from happening to us," Frank told us.
When it came time for a colonoscopy, Linda and Frank turned to Dr. Seth Gross. He's using a new tool to get a better look at the five-foot long organ. "The colon is not a smooth pipe. The colon has folds to it," Gross explained.
Those folds can act as blind spots in a traditional colonoscopy. "Traditionally, we would move our colonoscope to push the fold out of the way to see the other side. But even with that technique, there's a chance we can miss polyps," admitted Gross.
Gross uses the new, third-eye retroscope. The camera and light on the end of it extends and bends to highlight areas that typically stay in the dark. "So, this is our rear view mirror when we're pulling out of the colon."
Traditional colonoscopies miss 12-to-24 percent of potentially cancerous polyps. The new FDA-approved tool improves detection rates by 25 percent.
"You never know what's hidden in your insides," Linda said.
It found four polyps in Linda and two in Frank.
"They told me one of them, if it went the other way, probably would have never been detected," Frank said.
Good news for this couple, who won't let anything come between them.
Current recommendations are to start having a colonoscopies at age 50, earlier if you have a family history of colon cancer.
BACKGROUND: Colonoscopy is a procedure used to see inside the colon and rectum. It can detect inflamed tissue, ulcers, and abnormal growths. The procedure is used to look for early signs of colorectal cancer. Colon, or colorectal, cancer is cancer that starts in the large intestine or the rectum.
Each year, an estimated 14 million Americans over age 50 are being screened for colorectal cancer. It is a silent disease that kills almost 50,000 people every year. It's also the third most common cancer in the world.
COMMON PROCEDURE: During a colonoscopy, the doctor inserts a long, flexible tube called a colonoscope, or scope, into the anus and slowly guides it through the rectum and into the colon. The scope inflates the large intestine with carbon dioxide gas to give the doctor a better view. A small camera mounted on the scope transmits a video image from inside the large intestine to a computer screen, allowing the doctor to carefully examine the intestinal lining.
The colon is about five feet long and is filled with curves and folds where polyps and cancerous lesions can hide. In a traditional colonoscopy, it's hard to see behind the blind spots. It can miss 12 to 24 percent of potentially cancerous polyps.
THIRD EYE RETROSCOPE: A new development in colonoscopy called the Third Eye Retroscope is fixing the problem. This device provides a rear view to see behind folds in the colon wall, where cancers may be hiding. It's a miniature video endoscope that is smaller in diameter than a ballpoint pen refill. It's inserted inside a regular colonoscope and allows the doctor to examine the colon more thoroughly and illuminate blind spots. Once inside the patient, the camera and light on the end of it extends and bends.
This new FDA-approved tool improves detection rate by about 25-percent and doesn't add to procedure time. Doctors recommend getting a colonoscopy when you turn 50 or earlier if you have a history of colon cancer in the family.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Avantis Medical Systems(888) 984-4733
http://www.thirdeyeretroscope.com
