Nobody wants to deal with an unwanted surprise, least of all when it comes to their health. WHile all medical procedures involve a certain level of risk, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and endoscopy procedures are relatively low-risk for as inherently invasive as they are.

If you feel more comfortable with a male or female gastroenterologist, then you should make such a request. Usually, a facility will have more than one gastro on site.

The risks associated with colonoscopy are very rare. They include sedation-related complications, bleeding, and perforation (poking a hole in the colon). Sedation-related complications are rare especially when the sedation (propofol) is administered by an anesthesiologist. Bleeding is a very rare complication, occurring rarely after a large polyp is removed.

For large polyps, often your doctor will place Hemoclips (small clips) over the polyp site to prevent bleeding. Perforation occurs about once every 2,000 to 5,000 procedures.

Typically, the more experienced your gastroenterologist, the less likely perforation is to occur. Suffice it to say, complications are exceedingly rare. The benefits of undergoing a colonoscopy to prevent the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths far outweigh the small risks of complications.