Bowel resection for Crohn’s disease

The surgeon removes diseased bowel and usually reconnects the healthy ends. Surgery can address a narrowed segment, blockage, fistula, abscess, bleeding, or persistent symptoms, but it does not cure Crohn’s disease.

The exact procedure depends on whether the small intestine, colon, or both are affected. It may be performed through small incisions or an open incision. Sometimes the bowel cannot be safely reconnected immediately, so waste is diverted through a temporary or lasting stoma into a bag.

Removing less bowel where feasible helps preserve absorption. Crohn’s inflammation can later return near the join or elsewhere, so follow-up and preventive medicines may still be needed after healing.

Before surgery, give the team a complete medicines list and ask which medicines to pause. Discuss nutrition, smoking, infection risk, the planned incision, and the possibility of a stoma. A stoma nurse can mark a suitable site and demonstrate care beforehand.

Afterwards, follow instructions on eating, drinking, wound care, pain relief, movement, and lifting. Walking supports circulation and bowel recovery. Record bowel output and contact the team if eating becomes difficult or diarrhoea is persistent, because hydration and medicine may need adjustment.

Seek urgent medical advice after surgery for worsening abdominal pain, a swollen abdomen, repeated vomiting, fever, a wound that becomes red or drains pus, inability to pass stool or gas, or a sudden major change in stoma output.

Call emergency services for severe breathing difficulty, chest pain, collapse, confusion, or heavy bleeding. These warning signs require assessment regardless of whether they seem related to Crohn’s disease.

Ask which bowel segment will be removed, how the operation may affect digestion, whether a stoma is possible, and what would determine whether it is temporary. Also clarify the expected hospital recovery, when usual activities can resume, and the plan for Crohn’s medicines and monitoring after surgery.