Preparing for Virtual Colonoscopy

You will need to follow a clear liquid diet for 24 hours prior to the exam and administer a bowel cleansing kit the day before the exam. The kit will be mailed to you from our center.

Proper preparation for the exam is required for Virtual Colonoscopy. In order to perform an accurate evaluation of the colon, a thoroughly cleansed colon is necessary. Inadequate cleansing can lead to an inconclusive study or even erroneous results.

Virtual colonoscopy is performed with a high-speed multidetector CT Scanner. You will lie on the CT exam table and a small flexible enema tip is placed in your rectum so that air can be introduced to expand the colon. A scan of the colon is performed with you lying on your back and then repeated with you lying flat on your stomach. Each scan takes about 20 seconds and the total time for the procedure is approximately 10 minutes.

Since there is no sedation or anesthesia, you may leave shortly after the procedure and resume normal activities immediately.

After reconstructing the data, the radiologist will evaluate the images to detect colon polyps or cancers.