Pioneering surgeons have developed a technique to preserve the bowels when removing pre-cancerous growths. The rectum is prone to the growth of very large polyps. Removing them can cause so much damage it leaves the patient needing a stoma bag. The new method has been performed on 20 people and the largest polyp removed was 18cm.
The team at London North West Healthcare NHS Trust said their method was "life changing" for patients. A polyp is not necessarily a tumour. But the bigger they grow, the more likely they are to become cancerous. They are often removed to prevent them reaching a deadly stage , but larger polyps can be difficult to get rid of. Some are so large they take over the entire circumference of the rectum.