Randomised Comparison of 2 Cold Snare Polypectomy Techniques

Different modalities are employed to remove small colonic polyps which potentially harbour a cancer risk. But, they can all vary in their completeness of removal, safety and the histological quality and the gold standard technique has yet to be defined. A novel suction pseudopolyp technique has been described by Patullo et al and in their prospective study, 126 polyps measuring less than 10mm flat or sessile were removed by this method with 100% complete endoscopic resection and without any immediate or delayed complications. The aim of the investigators study is to compare this technique with the standard cold snare technique. Patients attending for a routine colonoscopy and found to have polyps measuring 37mm in size will be eligible and they will be randomised to the polypectomy technique. Patient demographics and polyp characteristics will be recorded. The primary outcome measured will be the macroscopic resection rate. The secondary outcome measures are abdominal pain, tenderness, bleeding and fever.