Sigmoidoscopy vs. Colonoscopy: What’s the Difference?
The main difference between a sigmoidoscopy and a colonoscopy is how far the scope moves into your colon during the procedure.
Because it only involves the last few segments of your colon, a sigmoidoscopy doesn’t require as much preparation as a colonoscopy. “Unlike a colonoscopy, one typically does not have to consume an oral lavage solution to entirely clean out the colon,” Click says. Instead, he says, most people only require one or two enemas several hours before their sigmoidoscopy to flush out stool from the area.
Another difference is that while sedation is generally recommended for a colonoscopy, doctors consider it optional for a sigmoidoscopy. “A lot of the unpleasantness in a colonoscopy is from trying to get to the end of the colon,” says Ashwin Ananthakrishnan, MBBS, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Of course, the more limited nature of a sigmoidoscopy also carries certain disadvantages. “It’s not able to look at inflammation on the right side of the colon if you’re looking for inflammation for disease surveillance, look for polyps elsewhere if you’re receiving sigmoidoscopy as a screening test, or look into your small intestine,” says Dr. Ananthakrishnan. That means not everyone will be an ideal candidate for a sigmoidoscopy as a substitute for a colonoscopy.
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