Colorectal
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Surgeon Anushka Chaudhry in theatre
The majority of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease do not need surgical treatment and are looked after by the medical gastroenterology team. However surgical treatments for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease are carried out if medical treatments fail or if complications of the disease occur.
In general an operation will remove the diseased section of the bowel.
In Crohn’s disease, the operation involves removing the effected part of the bowel which can be relatively limited in extent. In ulcerative colitis usually the whole colon is removed, this operation is called a panproctocolectomy.
For further information on Crohn’s/ulcerative colitis we suggest you visit the following website:
www.crohns.org.uk (external site – opens a new window)
Panproctocolectomy and Ileostomy Operations
In the past, the surgeon removed the colon and attached the small intestine to a small opening in the abdomen (called the stoma). An external bag is then placed over the opening to collect waste. Some patients prefer this treatment.
Restorative Proctocolectomy (ileoanal pouch procedure)
In this more modern procedure the colon and rectum are removed, a pouch or reservoir is then created from end of the small intestine to replace the rectum and attached to the anus, allowing patients to open their bowels as usual.