Go through these in order and stop at the first one that applies. If you are reading this for someone else, answer for them.
And for anyone, someone who:
Do not wait for a planned surveillance visit if new rectal bleeding, persistent bowel changes, or symptoms of anemia develop.
These concerns should be discussed sooner.
Follow-up colonoscopy is often called surveillance .
Its purpose is to check for new polyps and confirm that certain large or complex lesions were completely removed.
One or two small sessile serrated lesions may lead to follow-up in 5 to 10 years.
Larger, more numerous, incompletely removed, or piecemeal-removed lesions may require earlier evaluation.
These intervals are examples, not personal recommendations.
Guidance can differ outside the United States, and individual findings may change the plan.
The endoscopist may initially give a provisional interval and update it after the pathology results return.
Contact the medical office if no pathology result or follow-up plan is received.
Routine follow-up is also an opportunity to review family history, since a new cancer or advanced polyp in a close relative may affect future screening.
The article also says
The recommended timing depends on:
The number and size of polyps
Whether they were adenomas, serrated lesions, or another type
Whether advanced microscopic changes were present
Whether removal was complete
The quality of the bowel preparation and examination
Personal and family history
Inflammatory bowel disease or an inherited cancer syndrome
Under 2020 guidance from the U.S.
Multi-Society Task Force, a person with one or two tubular adenomas smaller than 10 millimeters, completely removed during a high-quality examination, may be advised to repeat colonoscopy in 7 to 10 years.
An advanced adenoma generally leads to a shorter interval, often 3 years.
Every sign above is quoted from the sofidex article on Colorectal polyps. If you are not sure, err upward — it is always reasonable to be checked.