HCM CityA 39-year-old patient discovered that a 5 cm colon polyp had progressed to cancer at an early stage, so he underwent radical surgery, which can be cured.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bach Duong (Da Lat City, Lam Dong) shared, often bloody stools, accompanied by diarrhea for the past two years. At first, this symptom was not frequent, she thought she had a digestive disorder, so she bought her own medicine and took it. But the situation is getting worse. Until, she felt a burning stomach, belching, defecation 7-8 times a day, she went to Tam Anh General Hospital for examination in mid-April.
Doctor Nguyen Quoc Thai (Head of Gastroenterology Department, Center for Endoscopy and Gastrointestinal Surgery) performed colonoscopy, computed tomography found that the patient had a colon polyp of about 5 cm, occupying his heart. intestine. During endoscopy due to the lumpy tumor blocking the intestinal lumen, easy bleeding, so the bronchoscope could not pass. Results of early stage melanoma (stage 0).
Colon polyps are small lesions that form on the surface of the innermost layer of the colon, called the mucosa. Usually, colon polyps are benign. However, without timely intervention and treatment, it can cause many complications such as gastrointestinal bleeding, intestinal obstruction, which can lead to colon cancer as in the case of Ms. Duong.
Dr. Quoc Thai added that this case is rare due to large polyps and was detected at a very early stage. The tumor has not shown any signs of spreading or metastasizing, however, the tumor completely obliterated the bowel lumen cannot be resected through gastrointestinal endoscopy but requires laparoscopic colorectal resection for radicalization. Compared with open surgery, this method has more advantages such as small scars, faster recovery.
CT (tomography) image showed a tumor nearly 5 cm in the colon. Image: Hospital provides
After nearly 2 hours of surgery, the patient recovered well, the incision healed quickly, and his health was stable. The previous symptoms such as loose stools, bloody diarrhea ... completely disappeared.
The patient is young, not yet old enough for gastrointestinal endoscopy (usually from 45 years old) to screen for cancer. Moreover, when there are abnormal symptoms, the patient does not immediately go to the doctor but waits for a long time, so surgery is required. Patients need to have regular check-ups to be monitored by the doctor to assess whether the disease has recurred or not. After the treatment, Ms. Duong said she was relieved of the burden, regained her spirit, and was no longer as worried as when she first held the diagnosis results in her hand.
Ms. Bach Duong re-examined after 20 days of surgery with stable health. Image: Hospital provided
Doctor Quoc Thai recommends that people should prevent diseases from an early age such as having a healthy lifestyle, eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, drinking a lot of water; exercise regularly every day; limit eating red meat; Avoid alcohol abuse, say no to tobacco. People from the age of 45 should be screened for gastrointestinal cancer. If you have a family member with cancer, the screening age may be earlier. People who have not yet reached the age of screening but when symptoms of abdominal pain appear, change in bowel habits, bloody stools, etc., should be examined soon. Early detection of the disease leads to effective treatment and high cure rate.
Quyen Phan
* Patient name has been changed.
