What is a flexible sigmoidoscopy?
When your doctor wants to explore possible causes of chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, or rectal bleeding or screen for colon cancer, he may suggest a flexible sigmoidoscopy. This test is used to examine the lower part of the large intestine and the rectum. The procedure is done using a thin, flexible tube with a tiny video camera attached that allows the doctor to view the inside of these areas. If necessary, tissue samples can be removed through the scope. This procedure doesn’t give the doctor a view of the complete colon the way a colonoscopy does.
