Laparoscopic Total Colectomy & Ileoanal Pullthrough

You and your family may find it helpful to discuss the operation with someone else who has already had the procedure. Your surgeon or outpatient nurse will make every effort to match you up with someone of similar age and gender to speak with either by phone or in person.

In traditional "open" surgery, the surgeon uses a single incision to enter into the abdomen. In laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon uses several small (3-5 millimeter) incisions through which surgical instruments are inserted and withdrawn. Each incision site is called a "port incision". At each port incision, a tubular instrument, called a trocar, is inserted into the abdomen. Specialized small instruments and a special tiny camera, called a laparoscope, are passed through the trocars during the operation.

At the beginning of the procedure, the abdomen is inflated (filled) with filtered air to provide a space for the surgeon to work. This space also helps the surgeon view the abdominal organs more easily. The laparoscope sends images (pictures) from the abdominal cavity to high-resolution video monitors in the operating room. During the operation the surgeon watches detailed images of the abdomen on the monitor. This system allows the surgeon to perform the same operation as traditional "open" surgery, but with smaller incisions.

We use these laparoscopic techniques to safely remove the entire colon and the lining of the rectum. This operation is performed using a combination of the incisions described above and a small version of the incision that babies are delivered through during C-section deliveries. Dissolvable stitches are used to close the incision sites.