The Need For Surgery To Treat Crohn's Disease

Although there are many drug therapies for treating Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, there are cases where this treatment does not bring symptoms under adequate control or where the side effects of the treatment are too serious or are more than the patient can tolerate. The symptoms of IBD may be so severe, come on so suddenly, or persist for so long that surgery becomes a preferred or required treatment option. There are also cases where a complication of IBD may occur that cannot be addressed adequately with drug therapy but can be resolved with surgery.

 

Most of the operations performed for IBD have certain features in common. First, the medical professional performing surgery will be a surgeon, usually someone other than the doctor who has been managing the other aspects of your treatment, typically a gastroenterologist (an internist with special training in treating gastrointestinal disorders). Second, most operations require one or more incisions on the abdomen in order for the surgeon to gain access to the involved areas of intestine. Third, most operations require a general anesthetic and a stay in hospital following surgery. The length of the hospital stay depends, to a large degree, on the nature of the operation, but averages somewhere around 7 to 10 days. Complications of surgery may increase the time in hospital. Finally, the time until full recovery averages 6 weeks, but this is highly dependent upon the type of operation, the patient's general health and nutritional state prior to surgery, and the patient's level of motivation.

 

 

Approximately 70% to 80% of people suffering from Crohn's disease and approximately 40% of people suffering from ulcerative colitis will require surgery at some point following their diagnosis. These estimates are based upon information from previous decades and do not necessarily reflect the effect of recent advances in drug therapy. Nevertheless, there is still a substantial proportion of IBD sufferers who end up requiring surgery for their disease.