Surgery of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Description

The inflammatory Bowel Disease is a set of diseases which main feature is the chronic swelling of different segments of the digestive tract from mouth to anus. Among them we find Crohn Disease and ulcerative colitis.
The first therapeutic approach has to be medical, reserving surgery for any complication which may arise as a consequence of the disease (obstructions and perforations) or in case the disease cannot be controlled only with medication.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease is very complex and for this reason in CMED we have a specialized unit for its treatment.

Symptoms

Symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease are varied and go from constipation and diarrhea to weight loss and abdominal pain. However, there are other symptoms that require surgical treatment as it is the case of intestinal obstructions, perforations,  abscesses  and perianal fistulas.

Treatment

Surgery for Inflammatory Bowel Disease depends on the stage and level of damage (large or small intestine).
In the case of small bowel obstructions me perform a stricturoplasty, a surgery that consists in the increase of the thickness of the bowel in the area affected by the obstruction or stenosis. If the patient shows a perforation, the affected part is resected and joined again with the intestine with the healthy area.
In turn, in cases of serious ulcerative colitis where the whole large intestine is affected surgery consists on its removal and on joining the small intestine with the rectum and anus.