Sequelae of colectomy and ileostomy: comparison between Crohn's colitis and ulcerative colitis

A comparison is made of the immediate and long term mortality of colectomy and ileostomy between 73 patients who had Crohn's colitis and 442 who had ulcerative colitis. The immediate mortality in Crohn's disease is 4%. In ulcerative colitis it is 10%, chiefly because of the higher proportion of emergency operations. The late mortality in both groups is 10%, chiefly as a result of recurrence of Crohn's disease or the sequellae of colonic malignancy present at the time of colectomy for ulcerative colitis. A further comparison is made between the postoperative course of the 64 surviving patients with Crohn's disease and a comparable sample of 65 patients who had an ileostomy for ulcerative colitis in the same era. There was a similar incidence of postoperative septic complications in the two groups (35%). The readmission rate was twice as high in the Crohn's disease patients. Ileostomy reconstruction for mechanical complication was needed in 21 patients with Crohn's disease compared with 6 with ulcerative colitis. Further ileal resection was required for recurrent disease on another 25 occasions in the patients with Crohn's disease but never in those with ulcerative colitis. Long therm review graded the clinical status as excellent or good in 70% of those with Crohn's disease compared with 95% with ulcerative colitis.