FAQ.

A Colon and Rectal Surgeon, or colorectal surgeon, is a physician who has completed a 5 year surgical residency after medical school and who has then gone on to do an additional year of training in a fellowship program focused on colorectal disorders. Colorectal surgeons are uniquely qualified to manage disorders of the intestine as well as anal problems and complaints that many other physicians may not feel comfortable managing, and are skilled in all manners of treatments for these organs--medical, procedural, and surgical. Both Drs. Olson and Muraliraj have completed this training and are board certified by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

Colonoscopy remains the gold standard for colon cancer screening. Colon cancer is the second most common cancer, and is increasing in incidence in society at large. The best thing you can do to lower you colon cancer risk to undergo routine colonoscopy to look for pre-cancerous polyps in your colon. These polyps can then be removed to prevent the development of cancer.

Screening is recommended to start at age 45 and continue every ten years, unless you have a family history of colon cancer, or certain colon-specific diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. Colonoscopy is a very safe procedure and in the modern era, not painful or difficult to undergo.

Robotic surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery where small incisions are used to access the internal organs of the abdomen. It has several advantages over traditional laparoscopy, in that suturing and other maneuvers are made much easier--this has lead to several surgical breakthroughs in our practice and the ability to deliver the most minimally invasive surgery possible for your colorectal disease.