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Right hemicolectomy

Right hemicolectomy refers to resection of the terminal ileum, cecum, ascending colon, and a portion of proximal transverse colon. The resection generally extends to the middle third of the transverse colon to provide wide margins for tumor resection and to obtain a well-vascularized incision line. An extended right hemicolectomy, which includes resection of the splenic flexure and proximal descending colon, is performed to treat tumors in the hepatic flexure and proximal transverse colon. When one is performing a contrast enema on patients who have had bowel resections including the ileocecal valve, such as a right hemicolectomy, care must be taken not to use so much barium that the small bowel is flooded with contrast medium, obscuring the colon.