Removal of the Complete Bowel (Proctocolectomy)

The complete large bowel must be removed in patients with inherited FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis), because they have a 100% probability for developing colorectal cancer. Also, patients with a history of long-term ulcerative colitis often require surgical removal of the complete bowel. In these cases the surgeon will try to create a pouch out of the small bowel and sew it onto the anus in order to simulate the reservoir function of the rectum.

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