The United Colon Vlog

Has anybody ever heard of a virtual colonoscopy or CT colonoscopy? It’s a relatively new procedure that is less invasive than a traditional colonoscopy. Some see it as a further tool in screening people for colon cancer, whereas others see it as an unnecessary and needless expense since the test is not as useful as the traditional optical colonoscopy.

A virtual colonoscopy works like this: the patient preps the bowels as normal. Then the patient lies down in a x-ray scanner and has a small tube inserted into the rectum. The tube pumps air into the colon, inflating it, then x-rays are taken of a person’s GI tract. The x-rays produce 2-D and 3-D images of a person’s insides.

The virtual colonoscopy can detect most polyps, except very small ones. If the person has no polyps, they go home. If polyps are detected, a traditional colonoscopy is required to remove them. Sometimes this colonoscopy can be done the same day to prevent having to do a second bowel preparation.

Much debate surrounds the medical value of this procedure. Check out some articles here, here, and here. Proponents say the uncomfortableness of traditional colonoscopies (such as sedation) and the risk of perferating the colon, prevent many people from getting screened. This less invasive method, then, will encourage more people to get their colon looked at.

Opponents point out that traditional colonoscopies have to be performed anyway in polyps are detected, so virtual colonoscopies are a needless expense. A further drawback of virtual colonoscopies is the inability to take tissue samples, which are necessary to help diagnose inflammatory bowel diseases and other colon diseases not characterized by polyps.

Medicare has tentatively decided NOT to pay for virtual colonoscopies, though the decision isn’t official yet. People in the know, though, don’t expect Medicare to change its decision. Some private insurance companies pay for the procedure, others don’t.

I’ve had two colonoscopies in my life and both were done the traditional way. Virtual colonoscopies wouldn’t even have been an option as the doctor took tissue samples both times. It is encouraging, though, that the medical community is looking for more noninvasive treatment options for bowel diseases, even if the results aren’t perfect yet.

Question: Have you had a virtual colonoscopy or known anybody who has? What were the results?

Keep fighting,
~Dennis