Flexible Sigmoidoscopy

Flexible Sigmoidoscopy at Mount Stuart Hospital

A flexible sigmoidoscopy looks inside the lower part of your large bowel. It is used to confirm whether there are any abnormalities present and also as a general screening tool for colon cancer.

A flexible sigmoidoscopy is a minimally invasive day case procedure that checks the lower part of your large bowel for signs of cancer and investigates symptoms such as persistent diarrhoea, bleeding from your bottom, and constipation. It takes just ten to 20 minutes to perform.

A thin and flexible tube with a camera on the end, called a sigmoidoscope, is carefully inserted into your back passage. Your endoscopist looks at images of your sigmoid colon on a video monitor. They may pass small amounts of gas through the sigmoidoscope into your lower bowel to make it easier to see. The tube is about the thickness of your index finger.

Sometimes small tissue samples, called biopsies of your bowel are taken for analysis.

Related Treatments

Diagnostic Laparoscopy

A diagnostic laparoscopy is keyhole surgery performed to help find the cause of symptoms such as chronic pelvic pain and infertility and to assist your doctor to make a diagnosis.

Find out more

CT Scan

A CT scanner creates detailed images of the inside of your body. A series of images taken from different angles are processed that can identify the tiniest abnormalities in your bones, organs, and blood vessels.

Find out more

Colonoscopy

A colonoscopy is an outpatient procedure that examines your large bowel for changes or abnormalities such as colon polyps and bowel cancer.  

Find out more

Latest from Mount Stuart Hospital

National Joint Registry Award

Mount Stuart Hospital is celebrating after being named as a National Joint Registry (NJR) Quality Data Provider after successfully completing a national programme of local data audits. 

Find out more
Paying for yourself?

Get in touch

Need some advice on a treatment price or booking an initial appointment?

We're here to help.

Or send us a message...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.