ABSTRACT
Thirty patients underwent intraoperative colonoscopy during elective surgery for colorectal cancer. Complete examination of the colon was achieved in 29 patients [96.6%]. In two patients [6.6%] The colonoscope was inserted via colotomy to complete the examination. A synchronous carcinoma was found in four patients [13.3%] which necessitated a change of planned surgical procedure. Synchronous polyps were detected in two patients [66%] one of them had carcinoma in situ, they were removed endoscopically. The mean age of patients with synchronous carcinoma was significantly higher than that of those without [63.5 versus 51.3 years, P < 0.05]. Intraoperative colonoscopy took a mean of 15 minutes and serosal tear occurred in only one patient. Intraoperative colonoscopy allows complete assessment of the colon and localizes synchronous lesions in patients with colorectal cancers