From Spotlight on Health Sept./Oct. 2008

Knowing it was the right thing to do, Les Levin went in for a routine colonoscopy. And, it was a good thing, too.

Although Levin, 54, had no symptoms, Long Prairie family medicine physician Paul Van Gorp, M.D., found a mass that was too large to remove. Levin was scheduled for surgery and in April underwent the first laparoscopic colon resection performed at Long Prairie Memorial Hospital. The
surgery, performed by George Fortier, M.D., removed a pre-cancerous adenoma mass and 12 inches of Levin’s colon.

While traditional surgery meant a long recovery time and large abdominal incisions, laparoscopic surgery is less invasive.

“Patients experience less pain -- requiring less medication, a faster recovery time, and a quicker return to normal activities,” Fortier said. Levin, a self-employed electrical contractor from Long Prairie, couldn’t be happier with the laparoscopic surgery and his recovery time. “Everyone was great,” Levin said. “The doctors were polite and informative. I had the surgery on a Thursday and was back to work the following Tuesday.”

“It’s important that people get a colonoscopy,” Fortier said. “By the time there are symptoms, the chance of it being cancerous has increased significantly.”

Nearly 50,000 Americans will die this year from colon cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

“Colon cancer is 90 percent preventable with regular screening, and if detected in its earlier stages, is successfully treated 90 percent of the time,” said Nicholas Reuter, M.D., director of Medical Oncology at the Coborn Cancer Center in St. Cloud.

“Don’t put it off like I did,” Levin said. “It’s not painful. They put you to sleep and before you know it, it’s over.”