Long-term functional outcome after restorative proctocolectomy: a cross-sectional study

Restorative proctocolectomy is the procedure of choice in the surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis. Functional outcome is the key result of surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long term-functional outcome after the procedure.

The study comprised 282 ulcerative colitis patients over 18 years of age who underwent restorative proctocolectomy between1985 and 2009. The median follow-up time was 13 years (range 4-28). Functional outcome of the pouch was evaluated by the disease-specific Öresland questionnaire with a score 0-15; 15 being the worst, and score <8 considered well-functioning.

The mean functional score was 5.5 (men 5.6, women 5.0). Seventy per cent of the patients had a well-functioning pouch. Those with poor function had had significantly more pouchitis than the patients with well-functioning pouches, 51.0 vs. 25.6% respectively (p = .001). No association was found between functional score and the time since the operation. In multiple regression analysis only the occurrence of pouchitis was associated with poor functional results.

The functional results were good and remained stable in the majority of the patients. Pouchitis seemed to have a negative impact on the functional results. Elderly patients especially need careful planning and counselling before restorative proctocolectomy.