Santa Isabel Municipal Hospital starts colonoscopy campaign and patients praise action

The Santa Isabel Municipal Hospital (HMSI) successfully started, this Monday (25), the colonoscopy task force, which aims to speed up possible diagnoses of bowel cancer. This type of exam is the best way to detect bowel cancer in its early stages.

“In the joint effort, in addition to the preventive part, we also do the curative part of small injuries. When there is a diagnosis of an already invasive lesion, the treatment must be evaluated after full evaluation by oncology and the multidisciplinary team. In other cases, when the lesion is benign in appearance, the lesion is already removed”, explained doctor Frederico Campos, endoscopist and general surgeon who coordinates the Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) service at Hospital Santa Isabel.

The joint effort continues this Tuesday (26) and Wednesday (27) and will benefit 60 patients who were waiting on the Municipal Regulation waiting list, reducing existing pent-up demand. “In the procedures that were carried out today, there was a suspected diagnosis of colorectal cancer in a relatively young patient. We also detected some polyps and lesions, which are already being removed”, said Frederico Campo.

The patient with a suspected diagnosis of cancer will be referred to the Municipal Regulation, after the biopsy results are released, for evaluation of referral to the municipal or State reference service for the oncology part.

Patients praised – Among the patients treated on the first day was public servant Sérgio Ricardo Gama de Carvalho, who praised the action for reducing the waiting time for patients for the exam. “The joint effort is helping a lot of people, for sure. I’ve been waiting to do this exam for a year and I’m here today carrying out the procedure”, said the patient shortly before entering the clinic to undergo the procedure.

Another patient treated was nursing technician Josefa Feliz Melo. “It’s a wonderful action, because I had been waiting for almost two years to do it and, with the joint effort that the hospital is promoting, the day has finally arrived,” she declared.

Housewife Josilene Tavares highlighted the importance of the collective effort for guaranteeing the population access to the exam free of charge and faster. “This exam takes a long time through the SUS and to take it privately, not everyone can afford it. So it’s an action that helps a lot, especially those who have less means,” she said.

Intestinal diseases – Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are becoming increasingly common these days. Symptoms may begin insidiously and over time may worsen. Therefore, it is essential to seek a specialist doctor, coloproctologist or gastroenterologist, for adequate diagnostic investigation and early treatment, minimizing the chance of complications from the disease.

And colonoscopy, emphasizes coloproctologist Francisco Sales Pinto, is the best method to diagnose this disease. “It is an exam that serves to prevent intestinal tumors, as well as to provide early diagnoses. So, every patient who has any intestinal changes, i.e., loss of blood in the stool, change in bowel habits, abdominal pain, weight loss, should always think about the need for a colonoscopy, which is a preventive exam for tumors of the large intestine”, he warns.

The joint effort, organized by HMSI’s Coloproctology Service, through the Medical Residency Program in Coloproctology, coordinated by doctor Shirlane Frutuoso, has the participation of a multidisciplinary team, made up of doctors, anesthetists, nurses, nursing technicians, as well as stretcher bearers , receptionists, extra support and cleaning staff.