CT Colonography | London Radiology | CT Colonoscopy London | London Radiology (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a CT colonoscopy and a CT colonography? ›

Virtual colonoscopy is also known as screening CT colonography. Unlike the usual or traditional colonoscopy, which needs a scope to be put into your rectum and advanced through your colon, virtual colonoscopy uses a CT scan to take hundreds of cross-sectional pictures of your belly organs.

Because of the higher participation rates, CT colonography screening for colorectal cancer is more cost-effective than colonoscopy screening.

Background: Computed tomography-colonography is a diagnostic modality that can be used when the colon is not completely intubated during colonoscopy. It may have the additional advantage that information on extracolonic lesions can be obtained.

Your bowel needs to be empty for the test so you have to follow a special diet for a couple of days beforehand. Usually a low fibre or liquid diet. You'll be given instructions about what you need to do. Before the test you take a laxative or a special liquid called gastrografin.

Although the carbon dioxide used to inflate your bowel is absorbed quite quickly following the procedure, some minor abdominal discomfort may remain for 1-2 hours. Returning to your normal diet and moving around will help ease any remaining discomfort. Pain relief medication may be taken if you wish.

FOR OUTPATIENTS

On the day before the CT colonoscopy: No solid food all day. Drink clear liquids only (i.e., water, tea, coffee, juice, soda, broth, jello, etc.). Drink 8 oz of water (about 1 glass) at least every hour (try to never be thirsty).

Most commercial insurance providers, Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans cover CTC as a diagnostic test. This is important especially if you have a failed colonoscopy or cannot undergo a colonoscopy due to medical reasons.

How long does a CT colonography take? The actual time in the CT scanner room is usually approximately 10–20 minutes. You may spend a variable time getting changed and toileting, depending on how you feel, before and after the test.

This applies to individuals who have had polyps in the past, have a family history of colon cancer, or have blood in the stool. CT colonography may be especially helpful: For frail or infirm elderly patients. For patients who cannot have anesthesia.

CT colonography is strictly a diagnostic procedure. If any clinically significant polyps are found, your doctor will have to remove them using conventional colonoscopy.

What is the new procedure instead of a colonoscopy? ›

Virtual colonoscopy is a special X-ray examination of the colon using low dose computed tomography (CT). It is a less invasive procedure than a conventional colonoscopy. A radiologist reviews the images from the virtual colonoscopy to look for polyps on the inside of the colon that can sometimes turn into colon cancer.

In a number of studies, CT colonography has displayed results equivalent to colonoscopy in both cancer and polyp detection. CT colonography has been shown to rapidly and effectively examine the entire colon for lesions.

You do not need to be put to sleep for this test. With CT colonography, your doctor can look at your colon from many different angles. You will need to clean out your colon before the test, just like for a colonoscopy. If a polyp is found during this test, you will need to have colonoscopy so it can be removed.

While we use general anesthesia in some cases, most of our patients get monitored anesthesia care now for colonoscopies. That means going to sleep in one room and then waking up in the recovery area, in terms of what you might remember about it.

You are advised to drink plenty of fluids over the next 24 hours. If you experience painful red eyes and blurred vision over the next 24 hours, this could be a reaction to the anti-spasmodic injection (Buscopan) that you may have been given during the examination. Contact your GP immediately.

This is why the procedure is often called a virtual colonoscopy. Two-dimensional (2-D) images of the inside of the colon as well as the rest of the abdomen and pelvis are obtained and reviewed at the same time without any additional radiation.

Doctors use this exam to check the colon for polyps. A polyp is an abnormal growth of tissue, which is often not cancer, but some can develop into cancer. This exam does not require sedation and typically takes about 20 to 30 minutes. CT colonography uses contrast to help us see the images more clearly.

CT scans utilize X-rays to form images of organs and tissues inside the body (for example, abdominal organs, brain, chest, lungs, heart) while colonoscopy is a procedure that can visualize only the inside surface of the colon.