Your doctor will discuss the surgery best suited for you, depending on where the cancer is and your preferences. The aim of surgery is to remove the area of the bowel with cancer and the nearby lymph nodes.
Learn more about:
- How the surgery is done
- Surgery for cancer in the colon
- Surgery for cancer in the rectum
- Other types of surgery
- Surgery for a blocked bowel (bowel obstruction)
- Risks of bowel surgery
- Side effects of bowel surgery
- What to expect after surgery
How the surgery is done
You will be given a general anaesthetic and have either open or keyhole surgery. Your doctor will discuss which method is best suited for you.
Open surgery
This is usually done with one long cut (incision) down the middle of your tummy. Open surgery leaves a larger wound and scar, and has a longer recovery time and hospital stay. It is widely available.
Keyhole surgery
Also called minimally invasive, laparoscopic or robotic surgery. The surgeon makes some small cuts in the abdomen and passes a thin tube with a light and camera (laparoscope) into one opening. They insert tools into the other cuts to remove the section of the bowel with cancer, using the camera as a guide. Keyhole surgery usually means less pain, scarring, time in hospital and a faster recovery.
For more on this, see our general section on Surgery.
→ READ MORE: Surgery for cancer in the colon
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Prof Alexander Heriot, Colorectal Surgeon and Director Cancer Surgery, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Director, Lower GI Tumour Stream, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, VIC; Dr Cameron Bell, Gastroenterologist, Royal North Shore Hospital, NSW; Graham Borgas, Consumer; Prof Michael Bourke, Director of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Westmead Hospital, The University of Sydney, NSW; Laura Carman, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Victoria, VIC; Amanda Connolly, Specialist Bowel Care Nurse, Icon Cancer Centre Windsor Gardens, SA; A/Prof Melissa Eastgate, Operations Director, Cancer Care Services, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Anne Marie Lyons, Stomal Therapy Nurse, Concord Repatriation General Hospital and NSW Stoma Ltd, NSW; Lisa Nicholson, Manager Bowel Care Services, Bowel Cancer Australia, NSW; Stefanie Simnadis, Clinical Dietitian, St John of God Subiaco Hospital, WA; Rafi Sharif, Consumer; Dr Kirsten van Gysen, Radiation Oncologist, The Nepean Cancer and Wellness Centre, NSW; Sarah Williams, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Lower GI, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC.
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