Surgical Treatment Patterns – Colon Cancer
Surgery during which all or part of the colon (also called the large intestine) is removed is called a colectomy. There are a number of different types of colectomies. They include a Right Hemicolectomy in which the right part of the colon is removed, a Left Hemicolectomy where the left portion of the colon is removed, or other types of partial colectomies where other segments are removed from the colon. In all colectomies, the bowel is either reconnected afterward (which is called an anastomosis) or the surgeon creates an ostomy, which is an opening of the bowel through the abdominal wall, to allow the contents of the bowel to exit from the body.

Surgical Treatment Patterns – Rectal Cancer
A rectum resection (protectomy) is a procedure which removes the cancerous portion(s) of the rectum. Partial proctectomy procedure may involve a low anterior resection (LAR) which is the surgical removal of cancers located in the upper part of the rectum, close sigmoid colon. After the cancerous portion of the upper rectum is removed, your surgeon will connect the sigmoid colon with the remaining healthy tissue located in the lower part of the rectum. This allows waste to pass normally out of the body.

Total Proctectomy procedure may involve an Abdominoperineal (APR) resection which is used to treat cancers located in the lower part of the rectum. Since APR requires the surgeon to remove the section of the cancerous portion of the lower rectum, some or all of the sphincter muscle near the anus may also need to be removed. The sphincter muscle is located just above the closure of the anus, and is responsible for bowel control. When this muscle is removed, your surgeon creates a colostomy, which is an artificial opening (called a stoma) in the lower abdomen to allow your body to eliminate waste.