[Percutaneous drainage of intra-abdominal abscesses in Crohn disease]

The majority of abcesses associated with Crohn's disease require surgical treatment. Since the postoperative rate of complications is high, particular care is needed in the choice of surgical therapy for patients with Crohn's disease. The interventional radiological method of percutaneous abcess drainage provides the surgeon with an alternative technique suitable both for the curative treatment of simple abcesses and for the palliation of complicated abcesses prior to elective surgical treatment. We have retrospectively analysed the drainage protocols, operation reports, and case histories of 7 patients with intra-abdominal abcesses in Crohn's disease. The results of our study emphasise the excellent clinical value of PAD in the treatment of abcesses associated with Crohn's disease.