Many times, medication regimens and surgeries allow for proactive management and treatment of severely diseased areas of the bowel. However, in Crohn’s disease, there is always a risk of the disease returning in spite of surgical treatment. It is always best practice to coordinate care and utilize shared decision making for proactive disease management as described below:
Consult a colorectal surgeon early on in your care to understand your potential surgery options in order to be informed and emotionally prepared while hopefully preventing emergency surgery.
Coordinate care between your gastroenterologist and colorectal surgeon to optimize medical treatment before, during and after your surgery to minimize the risk of Crohn’s disease worsening and needing repeated surgeries. For more information on questions to ask your colorectal surgeon or ostomy nurse visit Preparing for Ostomy Surgery with IBD.
Written by Tina Aswani Omprakash. Medically reviewed and validated by Jordan Axelrad, MD, MPH. These webpages are funded by a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Contact Us
United Ostomy Associations of America
P.O. Box 2293
Biddeford, ME 04005-2293
Call us toll-free at: 1-800-826-0826.
Our Information Line hours are Monday-Friday, 9am to 3pm EST. If you have an emergency, please dial 911 or contact your local medical professional.
Please understand that UOAA is a private, nonprofit, advocacy and informational organization. We are not a medical facility and we do not have medical or legal professionals on staff. Therefore, UOAA does not provide Medical, Mental Health, Insurance or Legal Advice. Visit UOAA Virtual Ostomy Clinic provided by The Wound Company for non-emergency, virtual ostomy support.
