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Hemi-Colectomy

What Is Hemicolectomy?

Hemicolectomy (also referred to as right or left hemicolectomy) is a partial colon-removal procedure in which surgeons excise the right (ascending) part of the colon or the left (descending) side of the colon.  The procedure is relatively common for treating diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, benign or malignant polyps of the colon, and colon cancer. 

The hemicolectomy procedure traditionally begins with an incision in the abdomen, opening the area for access to the colon.  Thereafter, the surgeon cuts away the infected or injured portions of the colon and reattaches the remaining tissue.  Open surgery has long been the preferred method for hemicolectomy, but innovations in the field have allowed for less invasive colon resection treatments.  By making smaller incisions and using a lighted scope (laparoscope) within the abdomen walls, surgeons can access the diseased portion without causing too much damage.  Laparoscopic technology helps reduce many of the inherent risks of more open surgery.  

After hemicolectomy procedures, the surgeon either reconnects the bowel with stitches or creates an opening in the abdominal wall, called a colostomy, to allow the bowels to remove excrement.  Surgeons don’t make this decision lightly, because if the colonic sections pull free of the stitches, excrement can contaminate the body leading to disease and possibly death.  Although colostomy is the safer choice, it carries several lifelong burdens (mental, physical, and emotional) on the patient.