Endoscopic Management of Complicated Small Bowel Crohn's Disease

Complicated Crohn's disease in the small bowel is often associated with structural complications, particularly strictures. Endoscopy plays a key role in the diagnosis, disease monitoring, and therapy of small bowel CD. This article will provide state-of-the-art endoscopic treatment modalities for small bowel complications in CD.

Endoscopic therapy for small bowel disease can be delivered through upper endoscopy, push enteroscopy, ileocolonoscopy, device-assisted enteroscopy, intraoperative enteroscopy, and ileoscopy. In addition to persistent medical therapy, endoscopic treatment is performed using bare- or drug-coated balloon dilation, electrocision, and mechanical stricturectomy. Isolated ileocecal valve CD with associated stricture and adjacent fistulas comprises a unique phenotype of CD, mimicking the clinical presentation and disease course of achalasia at the gastroesophageal junction. Ileocecal valve CD can be treated with stricturectomy and fistulotomy. Endoscopy also has a major role in the treatment of surgery-associated anastomotic complications (such as stricture, bleeding, and leaks). Endoscopic treatment should be attempted in patients with short (<4-5) small bowel strictures on top of medical therapy. Isolated ileocecal valve CD represents a unique phenotype of CD consisting of inflammation, stricture, and fistula at and around the valve, which is amenable for endoscopic therapy.