An Overview of Surgery for Ulcerative Colitis
If you have severe
ulcerative colitis, and medications and lifestyle changes aren't enough to relieve your symptoms, your doctor may recommend ulcerative colitis surgery. It's estimated that up to 4 out of every 10 people with ulcerative colitis will eventually need to have their
colon (large intestine) and rectum removed.
Some other reasons that surgery for ulcerative colitis may be recommended include:
- A perforation, or tear, in the intestine
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- Toxic megacolon (acute widening of the colon)
- A significant number of precancerous growths
- Colon cancer.
While many people don't like the idea of having surgery, it's good to know that you don't need your large intestine to stay alive, and that ulcerative colitis surgery does usually cure this disease.
Types of Ulcerative Colitis Surgery
There are several ways that ulcerative colitis surgery can be done. If you need to have surgery, you and your healthcare professional should decide together which is the best option for you. Some of the different options for ulcerative colitis surgery include:
- Proctocolectomy with standard ileostomy
- Ileoanal anastomosis (or ileoanal pouch surgery or restorative proctocolectomy)
- Proctocolectomy with continent ileostomy.
Proctocolectomy is the medical term that means removing the colon and rectum.
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