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Anyone had Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for residual Colon Cancer?
After finishing Folfox Treatment for rectal Cancer there is still a residual polyp remaining which the surgeon suggested the surgeon suggested the surgery which would leave mom with a colostomy bag. After talking some more about alternative options since biopsy was negative and CEA blood level had dropped, he suggested there was another option called Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection - where during a Colonoscopy procedure they scoop/cut out the remaining polyp and then perform pathology to determine if any cancer below the polyp or not. Hoping for the best and wanted to see if anyone else had been through this procedure. Thanks!
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@mjdavey36, I see that @johnpug mentioned having an endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) a while back and may have experience to share.
Did you mom and her surgeon decide to go with the ESD?
Thank you Colleen! Yes the decision was made to do the ESD in a few weeks.
I had a related procedure--an EMR --to remove a large colon polyp. As expected, the preparation wasn't fun. The procedure itself seemed like a regular colonoscopy. I was given an iv sedative and, when I woke up less than an hour later, it was done. I went home shortly after with no side effects. I had a follow up six months later to check the margins and be sure they got everything--which they had. This procedure can replace invasive colon resection surgery so I feel lucky that it was available. As always, be sure you select a doctor with lots of experience doing the procedure. I believe it's pretty difficult to perform and requires lots of training. My doctor (at UCSF) specializes in it.
Thanks so much @brownsf . Great to hear that you had success with it. My surgeon did reccomend a highly trained surgeon in NYC with Sloane Kettering. I also feel lucky that this is an option and am hoping to have positive results as you did and avoid a big surgery. It seems to be a new option and hopefully will be more common.