Small Colon Polyps

One thousand forty‐eight small (up to 6 mm) colorectal polyps, removed during colonoscopy, have been analyzed. Sixty‐one percent of these small polyps were neoplastic, the remainder being equally divided between hyperplastic polyps and polypoid mucosa with normal‐appearing glands. The number of polyps was evenly distributed throughout the colon. Proximally, neoplastic polyps predominated, accounting for 73% of all polyps in the right colon. This was reversed in the distal colon where non‐neoplastic polyps comprised 65% of all polyps in the rectum. The incidence of carcinoma was extremely low in small colon polyps, 0.1%. All polyps should be removed when encountered during colonoscopy due to the high prevalence of adenomas among small colon polyps.