Complications in colonoscopic polypectomy. An experience with 1,555 polypectomies.

One thousand five-hundred fifty-five polyps were removed from 1172 patients; the sizes ranged from 5 mm to 6 cm. Nineteen complications accounted for 1.2 percent. Bleeding was the most common complication, followed by transmural burn. Other complications included a silent free perforation, a snare-wire entrapment, and an ensnared bowel wall. The complications in colonoscopic polypectomy are low. With proper technique, better selection of patients, and a broad knowledge of the causes and mechanisms, however, the complication rate can be reduced even more.