Surgery to remove a small part of the bowel lining (local resection)

What type of surgery do I need?

The type of surgery you need for cancer of the large bowel (colon cancer) depends on:

• the stage of your cancer

• where it is in your colon

For a small early ​stage​ colon cancer, your surgeon might just remove the cancer from the bowel lining, along with a border of healthy tissue. This is called a local resection.

Many people have a local resection as day surgery. Or you might need to stay one night in hospital.

For larger cancers, your surgeon might remove the part of the bowel where the cancer is and join the two ends of your colon back together. This is called a colectomy.

Find out about having a colectomy

Before a local resection

Your bowels need to be empty for a local resection.

To do this you take medications (laxatives) or an enema to empty your bowel the day before your test. You shouldn’t eat for 6 hours before and only drink clear fluids in this time.

You should get written instructions before your test about what you need to do.

Find out more about preparing for your operation

How you have the surgery

You have this operation under ​general anaesthetic​, or with a drug that makes you sleepy (sedation). The specialist doing the operation might be a surgeon, trained endoscopist or a bowel and stomach specialist (gastroenterologist).

The specialist uses a long, flexible tube called a colonoscope to do the operation. They place lubricating jelly on your bottom before inserting the colonoscope. They will then pump some gas (carbon dioxide) in to open up your bowel.

They put the colonoscope into your back passage and pass it along your bowel. The colonoscope has a camera at the end so the specialist can see pictures of the inside of your bowel on a TV monitor. 

Read more about having a colonoscopy

The specialist uses the colonoscope to find the cancer. They then remove the cancer and a border of healthy tissue (margin) around the cancer. They do this by passing cutting instruments down the colonoscope.

They send the tissue that they remove to the laboratory. A specialist doctor called a ​pathologist​ looks at the cancer cells under the microscope, to see how abnormal they are.

After local resection

Your surgeon may decide you need a second operation based on the report made by the pathologist. They might recommend a second operation if they think that the whole cancer might not have been removed. Or that there is an increased chance of the cancer coming back.

This surgery aims to remove tissue that could contain cancer cells and lowers the chance of your cancer coming back.

Read more about what happens after surgery

Find out more about possible problems after surgery