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Updated: May 28, 2026

Murine Ileocolic Bowel Resection with Primary Anastomosis
Published on: October 29, 2014
Long-term outcome of colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis for Crohn's colitis
J M O'Riordan1, B I O'Connor, H Huang
1Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
Ileorectal anastomosis is an important surgical option for patients with Crohn's colitis with relative rectal sparing.
Objective:
This study aimed to audit outcomes of ileorectal anastomosis for Crohn's and factors associated with proctectomy and reoperation.
Design:
This retrospective study involved a chart review and contacting patients.
Settings:
Patients with Crohn's colitis who had an ileorectal anastomosis were identified from the Mount Sinai Hospital Inflammatory Bowel Disease Database.
Patients:
Demographics, operative and perioperative outcomes, and reoperative data were collected.
Main Outcome Measures:
Five- and 10-year Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for survival from proctectomy and Crohn's-related revisional surgery. Cox proportional hazards models were used to model the hazards of proctectomy and Crohn's-related revision on the clinical characteristics of patients.
Results:
Eighty-one patients had an ileorectal anastomosis for Crohn's disease from 1982 to 2010. The most common indications for surgery were failed medical management (60/81, 74.1%) and a stricture causing obstruction (14/81, 17.3%). Seventy-seven percent (n = 62) had a 1-stage procedure, whereas 23% (n = 19) had a 2-stage procedure (colectomy followed by ileorectal anastomosis). The overall anastomotic leak rate was 7.4% (n = 6). Fifty-six patients had a functioning ileorectal anastomosis at the time of follow-up. At 5 and 10 years, 87% (95% CI: 75.5-93.3) and 72.2% (95% CI: 55.8-83.4) of individuals had a functioning ileorectal anastomosis. Eighteen patients required proctectomy for poor symptom control, whereas 11 patients required a small-bowel resection plus redo-ileorectal anastomosis. The mean time to proctectomy from the original ileorectal anastomosis was 88.3 months (SD = 62.1). Smoking was associated with both proctectomy (HR 3.93 (95% CI: 1.46-10.55)) and reoperative surgery (HR 2.12 (95% CI: 0.96-4.72)).
Limitations:
: This study was retrospective.
Conclusions:
Ileorectal anastomosis is an appropriate operation for selected patients with Crohn's colitis with sparing of the rectum. However, patients must be counseled that the reoperation rate and/or proctectomy rate is approximately 30%.
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