New York, NY - A small number of patients diagnosed with polyps in their large intestine have extensive or difficult-to-remove polyps, such as those that are flattened against the colon wall or in hard-to-reach places. As with all polyps that may develop into malignant cancers, they must be removed. Unlike regular polyps, extensive or difficult-to-reach polyps have, until now, necessitated open surgery with a lengthy recovery time.

Now, an experimental procedure, laparoscopic surgery combined with carbon-dioxide assisted colonoscopy, allows most patients to return home in less than a day -- a potential advantage over traditional open surgery, which requires a three- to seven-day hospital stay. The new procedure was developed and offered exclusively in the New York metro area by colon and rectal surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

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