Which surgery to have for ulcerative colitis?

audi · Newbie Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 2

Hello! I have been diagnosed severe ulcerative colitis some time ago. My symptoms were bloody diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. I also had terrible sudden feeling of having to defecate and I usually rushed to the bathroom. My blood tests showed anemia, elevated white blood cells and sedimentation rate. Since I had years of colitis and responded poorly to medications my doctor recommended surgery. I was told there were few procedures and I was wondering which surgery to have for my ulcerative colitis.

albina · Newbie Joined: 03 Sep 2003 Posts: 3

Hello! There is a standard surgery which involves removal of the entire colon. Small opening is made in abdomen and the end of the small intestine is attached to the skin of the abdomen and forms an ileostomy. A bag that is attached over the ileostomy collects the stool. There have been some improvement of ileostomies and now we have patients with continent ileostomies who don’t wear bags since they empty pouches with a small tube. There is also “pull-through” procedure where the normal route of stool elimination is maintained. This procedure removes the large intestine and the small intestine is attached just above the anus.

Which surgery to have for ulcerative colitis?

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