Surgical therapy for Crohn's disease of the colon and rectum

Crohn's disease remains incurable by either medical or surgical treatment. Both physician and surgeon must work together with the common objective of restoring health by eliminating or alleviating the complications of Crohn's disease. From the surgeon's viewpoint, operation is performed for complications of the disease or for failure of medical management. Although aggressive surgical excision of affected bowel rids the patient of disease for a period of time, the beneficial effects of operation have to be considered in the context that disease recurrence is always a possibility and that reoperation for such complications may be necessary. The aim of the surgeon is to deal with the current problem as simply as possible and to maintain a long-term, strategic view of the disease process with the understanding that what is done today may affect the patient for life.