Surgical implications of colonoscopy.

Colonoscopy, although increasingly used as a screening tool, has many surgical applications. As a tool for the abdominal surgeon, colonoscopy may be used not only to diagnose neoplasia, but also hemorrhage, and inflammatory and obstructive disorders. Therapeutically, endoscopic polypectomy has impacted the incidence of colorectal cancer, and further visualization techniques have augmented the ability of the endoscopist to discriminate between benign and neoplastic lesions. Colonoscopy remains a necessary implement to facilitate the diagnosis and therapy of those patients with disorders of the colon and rectum.