Colorectal Cancer Surgery & Surgical Oncology Procedures
Learn More About Colorectal Cancer Surgical Procedures: Chat with Us | Email Us
Surgery for Colorectal Cancer
Surgery is the most common colorectal cancer treatment. The goal of surgery is to remove colorectal tumors, as well as a margin of surrounding normal tissue and several nearby lymph nodes.
Many patients receive chemotherapy and, in some cases, radiation therapy following surgery for colorectal cancer. These adjuvant therapies help ensure that any cancer cells that remain after surgery are eliminated. Also, some rectal cancer patients receive chemotherapy and radiation treatment prior to surgery to help shrink tumors before they are surgically removed.
Experts in Colorectal Cancer Surgery
At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), you’ll find surgical oncologists who have significant experience in performing complex surgical procedures for colorectal cancer.
If you need to undergo surgery, you’ll meet with a surgical oncologist to plan your colorectal cancer treatment. He or she will explain the recommended procedure(s) at a level you can understand. Your surgical oncologist will encourage you to ask questions and help you make treatment decisions that are right for you.
Furthermore, as an important member of your care team at CTCA, your surgical oncologist will work with your other doctors, nurses and therapy clinicians to make sure you receive the comprehensive and attentive care you deserve.
Your care team will help you prepare for your procedure and ease anxieties you may have about undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. In addition, your team will help you through your recovery, providing critical nutrition and metabolic support, pain management and other evidence-based therapies to help you recuperate. These therapies aim to boost your strength, keep you comfortable and minimize the trauma of surgery.
Open, Laparoscopic & Innovative Procedures for Colorectal Cancer
Our surgical oncologists are highly skilled in performing both open and less invasive procedures, including laparoscopic colon resections, as well as rectal-sparing surgeries.
In addition, we’re able to treat some forms of advanced colorectal cancer with a groundbreaking procedure called hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (also known as hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy or HIPEC). For the procedure, our surgical oncologists remove and debulk abdominal tumors and then administer sterilized, heated chemotherapy to the abdomen to eliminate remaining cancer cells that may be on the surface of the organs or intestines. Because the chemotherapy is administered directly to the abdomen, high doses are concentrated where the chemotherapy is needed most. This also minimizes the rest of the body’s exposure to the chemotherapy, helping to reduce side effects.
We also regularly perform image-guided laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery procedures, such as polypectomies, to remove cancerous or precancerous polyps from the colon or rectum. A polypectomy can be performed during a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy. Neither procedure requires an incision to be made in the abdomen.
For cancer that has spread from the colon or rectum to the liver (the site where colorectal cancers mostly commonly spread), we may perform a laparoscopic or open liver resection. Another colorectal cancer treatment option is radiofrequency ablation, which enables us to use ultrasound guidance to place a special catheter within the center of a liver tumor. Radiofrequency waves (i.e., electrical energy) are then emitted through the catheter. The heated energy helps to destroy cancer cells.
Next Topic: Colon Resection
