Endoscopic Evaluation and Management of the Postoperative Crohn's Disease Patient

Approximately 70% of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) undergo surgical resection for the treatment of medically refractory disease or its complications. The sickest cohort of CD patients experience rapid postoperative relapse at the anastomotic site. Over the past 2 decades, the types of surgical anastomoses used in CD reconstruction have changed; end-to-side and end-to-end anastomoses have been surpassed by the more rapidly created side-to-side anastomoses. This article provides a review of the timing and purpose of endoscopic evaluation in postoperative CD patients and pragmatic information regarding interpretation of endoscopic findings at the different types of surgical anastomoses after ileocecal resection.