Surgical treatment of inflammatory bowel disease: From the gastroenterologist’s stand-point

Core Tip

Core Tip: The main indications for surgery in inflammatory bowel disease concern acute or chronic complications and/or failure of the conservative treatment. Emergency surgery in Crohn’s disease (CD) is performed in cases of intestinal obstruction, presence of perineal or intra-abdominal abscesses, and toxic colitis, while in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) emergency surgery concerns bowel perforation, toxic megacolon, and uncontrolled bleeding. Elective surgery in CD concerns cases of strictures or perianal disease, while in patients with UC elective surgery is applied mainly in cases of patients unresponsive to conservative treatment. To achieve an excellent therapeutic result, the cooperation of a gastroenterologist, surgeon, pathologist, imaging physician, and nutritionist is necessary.