Surgical features to reduce anastomotic recurrence of Crohn's disease that requires reoperation: a systematic review

Anastomotic recurrence after intestinal resection is one of the main embarrassing problems encountered during Crohn's disease (CD) management. This complication is often associated with an expected consequence, mainly a multiple intestinal resection. This systematic review evaluates published evidence on surgical features to reduce surgical recurrence after bowel resection and provide surgeons with recommendations based on published evidence. We conducted bibliographic research on September 05, 2020, through PubMed, Cochrane database, and Google scholar. We retained meta-analysis, randomized clinical trials, and controlled clinical trials. The strength of clinical data and subsequent recommendations were graded according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Fourteen articles were retained. Early resection reduces surgical relapse and the need for additional medical treatment. There was no difference between conventional and laparoscopic bowel resection. Mesenteric excision seems to reduce surgical recurrence. Stapled side-to-side anastomosis reduces surgical recurrence. However, no difference was observed between Kono-S anastomosis ensure at least similar anastomotic recurrence rate compared to conventional anastomosis. Surgical recurrence was reduced after bowel resection when compared to stricturoplasty. There was no difference between the one and two steps resection. Several surgical features have been investigated. Some of them were unanimously found to be effective in lengthening the disease-free relapse. However, others are still controversial.