Colonoscopy in Vienna
Colonoscopy has a worse reputation than it deserves.
Frankly, the least pleasant part is the preparation the day before. You will not be aware of the examination itself: you fall asleep and wake up again in the recovery room.
The good news: colonoscopy is one of the few cancer screening examinations that not only detect cancer early but can actually prevent it. Precancerous lesions, known as polyps, I remove during the same examination.
The three questions everyone asks me
Does it hurt?
It does not. You receive deep sedation with propofol. This is not a twilight sleep in which you remain partly aware: you are fully asleep. Anaesthesia is provided by a specialist anaesthetist whose sole task during this time is to look after you.
How soon can I get an appointment?
Promptly: usually within about three weeks. I have my own examination slots at the Goldenes Kreuz on Mondays and do not depend on anyone else's capacity. If you have alarm symptoms, it can be arranged considerably sooner; in that case, please call and mention them.
And the preparation?
It is the only unpleasant part. A light diet the day before, then the bowel preparation solution; you drink the second portion on the morning of the examination. Why does this matter so much? In a poorly prepared bowel, polyps can be missed.
How the day unfolds
Arrive in the morning, leave in the early afternoon
As you may not drive for 24 hours, you will need someone to collect you, or a taxi.
Preliminary consultation at the practice
About 20 minutes: medical history, medication, blood clotting and informed consent. You receive the documents and the bowel preparation to take home.
Admission to the private hospital
After admission, you change. You are then taken to the operating theatre, where the examination takes place.
15 to 45 minutes
A gastroscopy takes about 15 minutes, a colonoscopy 30 to 45 minutes. During colonoscopy, I remove polyps in the same session, including large ones, and take tissue samples where needed.
Waking up, tea, results
You wake up in the recovery room and are given tea and rusks. I come to see you there, show you the images and discuss the findings with you. Tissue results follow after about a week; you will hear from me even if everything is in order.
Where possible, I remove large polyps during the same examination. If the risk of bleeding afterwards is increased, you stay one night at Goldenes Kreuz as a precaution. This spares you a second procedure with renewed bowel preparation.
And when should you return? That is stated in your report. It depends on the number, size and tissue type of what was found, not on a blanket rule. For some it is ten years, for others three.
When it is advisable
Even if you feel perfectly well
As a screening examination from the age of 45, and particularly when you feel well, because polyps cause no symptoms. If bowel cancer or polyps have occurred in your family, then earlier: as a rule of thumb, ten years before the age at which your relative was diagnosed.
Regardless of age, in the case of visible blood in the stool, a positive stool test, iron deficiency without an apparent cause, chronic diarrhoea, a persistent change in bowel habits, unintended weight loss or inflammatory bowel disease.
In chronic diarrhoea in particular, colonoscopy is important even if the mucosa looks unremarkable: step biopsies (samples from several sections of the bowel) can confirm or rule out microscopic colitis. It cannot be seen with the naked eye.
If mast cell activation is suspected, I also have the tissue samples specifically examined for mast cells. This is part of my specialist mast cell diagnostics and spares you a second examination. Samples from an earlier endoscopy can also be re-stained for mast cells.
And what is most often overlooked? Iron deficiency. It can be the first, and for a long time the only, sign.
What it costs
As a day case at a private hospital
How much you pay yourself depends on whether you have supplementary private hospital insurance.
If you hold supplementary private hospital insurance, the hospital generally bills your insurer directly. Depending on your policy, an excess may apply.
Colonoscopy including anaesthesia, day-clinic stay and histological examination. You receive the exact amount in writing beforehand, so there is no guesswork.
The preliminary consultation at the practice is billed as a private physician's service; you can submit the invoice to your statutory health insurer. The examination takes place at the Goldenes Kreuz private hospital, Lazarettgasse 16–18, 1090 Vienna.
Frequently asked questions
What else you should know
I take blood thinners.
In most cases, this is not an obstacle. Whether, and for how long, they are paused depends on the medication and the reason you take it, and is determined in the preliminary consultation. Please do not stop anything on your own initiative.
Can I have a gastroscopy and colonoscopy on the same day?
Yes, in a single session under one sedation. It is also the more comfortable option.
How much time will I need off?
The day of the examination. You are usually fully fit again the following day. You may not drive for 24 hours after sedation.
Do I need to come to the practice beforehand?
Yes. The preliminary consultation covers your medical history, medication and blood clotting and forms the basis of informed consent. It takes about 20 minutes.
And if you find something?
I remove polyps in the same session, including large ones. If a large polyp carries an increased risk of bleeding afterwards, you stay one night at Goldenes Kreuz as a precaution, so that no second procedure is needed. Everything else, that is follow-up, further investigation and treatment, is handled through my practice, by me. You do not need to look for a new point of contact. That is precisely why I work this way.
Appointment
Make an appointment
Let us know briefly what it concerns: screening, symptoms, or a follow-up after polyp removal. Or book the preliminary consultation directly online.
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