[Endoscopic balloon dilatation of symptomatic strictures in Crohn's disease]

Between March 1990 and August 1993, eleven stenoses were dilated to a diameter of 25 mm by balloon catheter introduced through a coloscope in ten of 25 patients with Crohn's disease that had caused drug-resistant obstructions (five men, five women: mean age 45 [22-61] years). These patients had inactive Crohn's disease with 2-8 cm long stenoses in the rectum (n = 1), sigmoid colon (n = 2), terminal ileum (n = 2) or in the neoterminal ileum after a previous operation (n = 6). Nine of the eleven stenoses were successfully dilated, and seven of these eight patients continued to be pain-free during a follow-up period of 6-42 (average 17) months. The only complication was one case of bleeding. This experience indicates that endoscopic balloon dilatation is a valuable addition to surgical treatment in patients with inactive Crohn's disease associated with short, fibrotic stenoses.