Crohn's disease surgeries make stead...(aroscopic surgery because the small inci...),Health

Date:11/18/2008

aroscopic surgery because the small incision involved leaves little external scarring, even after repeat procedures," Dr. Michelassi notes. These minimally invasive techniques also lead to fewer surgery-linked internal tissue adhesions. Laparoscopic procedures do tend to require more training on the part of surgeons, and they can take longer to perform than conventional surgery. "However, they also lead to shorter hospital stays, saving money and getting patients home faster," Dr. Stein notes.

Strictureplasty. This technique has revolutionized bowel surgery, the experts say. "In the past, surgeons would cut out whole sections of diseased bowel, shortening the organ and thereby limiting gastrointestinal function," explains Dr. Michelassi, a world-renowned pioneer in the technique. With strictureplasty, surgeons leave the affected length of bowel in place but widen it, "much like letting out the seams on a pant-leg," he says. This spares bowel tissue while "restructuring" it, so that intestinal contents can safely pass through.

Fistula Plugs. Fistulas can be both painful and dangerous, causing intestinal contents to diverge from the anal canal. This often leads to anal incontinence, abscesses and, most seriously, systemic infection. Certain surgeries can drain the fistula tract but for more difficult lesions a new surgical anal plug -- made from grafted porcine tissue -- is placed over the fistula. The plug triggers the growth of local fibrotic tissue that then closes off the fistula tract. "In studies, this approach has proven successful in up to half of Crohn's patients," Dr. Stein says.

These and other surgical advances are giving patients valuable new options against a relentless disease, Dr. Michelassi says.

"In our work here at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, we're learning that we can do so much more than we thought we could -- reducing surgical risks, sparing bowel and helping patients have better outcomes
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Contact: John Rodgers jdr2001@med.cornell.edu 212-821-0560 New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College Source:Eurekalert

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