After you have surgery for colorectal cancer, one of the biggest concerns most people have is about going to the bathroom. Surgery has become a lot safer through advancements in technique, and surgeons have learned new ways to operate that help patients go to the bathroom normally afterwards.
One of the main changes is something called "sphincter-sparing surgery." The sphincter is the muscle that lets you control bowel movements. This used to be removed during rectal operations, which left patients going to the bathroom through a colostomy or a bag after surgery. Now, surgeons can put the colon back together without removing the sphincter muscle in all but a few types of rectal tumors.
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