Overview of Common Complications in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Surgery.

The complication rate after surgery in patients with inflammatory bowel disease is high owing to chronic inflammatory and suboptimal physiologic state, the effect of steroids and immunosuppressive medication, and the inherent complexity of the surgical procedures. Although some of the complications after surgery are similar for Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, others are specific to the diagnosis. Complications are divided into early postoperative and late complications. Specific complications are related to more extensive surgery such as a proctocolectomy or reoperative procedures or with complex reconstructive procedures such as the ileoanal pouch and continent ileostomy.

Management of afferent loop obstruction from recurrent metastatic pancreatic cancer using a venting gastrojejunostomy.

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive malignancy potentially curable with surgical intervention. Following pancreaticoduodenectomy for suspected pancreatic head malignancy, patients have a high risk for both immediate and delayed problems due to surgical complications and recurrent disease. We report here a patient with pancreatic cancer treated with pancreaticoduodenectomy who developed recurrent disease resulting in obstruction of the afferent limb. The patient developed biliary obstruction and cholangitis at presentation. Her biliary tree failed to dilate which precluded safe percutaneous biliary decompression. During surgical exploration, she was found to have a dilated afferent limb at the level of the transverse mesocolon. The patient underwent decompression of the afferent limb as well as the biliary tree using a venting gastrojejunostomy to the blind loop. This represents a novel surgical approach for management of this complicated and difficult problem.