Colon and Rectal Surgery

Conditions We Treat

You should talk to your doctor or a colorectal surgeon if you suffer from any of these conditions to see if you might benefit from surgery. 

• Anal and Rectal Conditions: including Hemorrhoids, Fissure, Fistula
• Colorectal Cancer and polyps of the colon and rectum
• Crohn’s Disease
  • Crohn's Disease
  • Ulcerative Colitis
• Diverticulitis
• Fecal Incontinence and Constipation
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Colorectal Cancer Surgery

If you’ve been diagnosed with colorectal cancer, our surgeons are among the most experienced in the region. We perform the highest volume of robotic colorectal cancer surgeries each year. Your team at the John Theurer Cancer Center will design a personalized plan designed to treat your cancer. Our goal is to preserve your colon and rectum and give you the best possible cancer outcome.   

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Expertise

We understand that an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis is not only uncomfortable but can limit your daily activities.

Irritable bowel diseases are complex and difficult to treat. Hackensack Meridian Health expertise in treating Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is unparalleled in New Jersey. You benefit from a team of colorectal surgeons working closely with your gastroenterologist to give you the best approach to managing your inflammatory bowel disease.    

Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery

Our surgery team is the most experienced in New Jersey providing surgical solutions for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Almost all colorectal resections – removing a portion of your colon or rectum – at Hackensack Meridian Health are performed using a minimally invasive approach with outstanding results.

Advanced Fluorescence Imaging: Our approach uses an activating dye to enhance the surgeon’s view of your colon.  

Faster Recovery: You have a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery than with traditional, open colorectal surgery. Learn more about the advantages of robotic surgery.

Minimally Invasive J Pouch: Having your colon and rectum removed no longer means living with an external waste bag (ostomy). You may be a candidate for a J pouch, an internal pouch which our surgeons create using a section of small intestine. 

Smaller Incisions: Surgeons remove a section of diseased colon or rectum and connect the remaining ends using small surgical tools and a high-definition camera inserted through a few small incisions.

Ostomy and Stoma Care

An ostomy is surgery to create a way for your body to eliminate the contents of the colon through a stoma into an external pouch. For some, this is temporary while the colon heals following colon or rectal surgery, while for others it is in place permanently. 

As Hackensack Meridian Health, we understand the challenges of living with an ostomy and provide you with:  

• Enterostomal Therapy: Our wound ostomy continence nurses and enterostomal therapists meet with you in clinic to help care for your stoma, pouch and surrounding skin. 
• Ostomy Support Group. Learn from others who are living with an ostomy as well as educational guest speakers.  Find a support group.

Anal and Rectal Surgery

Many people suffer in silence with conditions of the rectum or anus rather than seek treatment. Our minimally invasive approaches to treating hemorrhoids, fissure and fistula and can offer relief

Likewise, some people may be embarrassed by unexpected or uncontrolled leakage of stool. It doesn’t need to be a natural side effect of aging or giving birth. Surgery can correct the muscle and nerve damage that causes fecal incontinence and greatly improve your quality of life.

 

Why Choose Hackensack Meridian Health for Colorectal Surgery?

Experience: Hackensack Meridian Health surgeons are among the most experienced in the region, performing the highest volume of robotic and minimally invasive colorectal surgeries in New Jersey each year. 

Highly Rated: Rated by U.S. News & World Report as “High Performing” hospitals for colorectal cancer surgery are Hackensack University Medical Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Ocean University Medical Center and Riverview Medical Center. 

Leaders: Other colorectal surgeons turn to us for the latest in robotic and minimally invasive surgery. In fact, Howard Ross, M.D., chair of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief, Hackensack University Medical Center, wrote the most widely read textbook on it. Our colorectal surgeons are pioneers in the latest techniques and publish their research in leading, peer-reviewed journals.