The effect of pelvic septic complications on function and quality of life after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis: a single center experience.

Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) has become the procedure of choice for surgical treatment of intractable ulcerative colitis (UC). Surgical complications occurring in the short-term, like pelvic sepsis, are responsible for pouch dysfunction. We prospectively evaluated 118 patients with IPAA for UC operated on between 1987 and 2002. Follow-up intervals were at 3, 6, and 12 months in the first year, then every year for at least 5 years. Patients answered a questionnaire 1 and 5 years after ileostomy closure. One hundred and seventeen patients completed the early follow-up. Nine patients developed early pelvic sepsis (7.69%); six required pouch salvage procedure. In about 33.3 per cent of cases more than one procedure was necessary. Eighty-eight patients were available for 5-year functional evaluation. Patients developing early sepsis (n = 9) showed worse long-term functional results compared with the remaining study population (n = 79): stool frequency; night evacuation; perfect day/night continence; discrimination; antidiarrhoeals need; pad usage; and sexual restriction were significantly different (P < 0.05). Quality of life and satisfaction after surgery were good in all patients. This observation did not correlate with function. Eighty-eight and 97 per cent would undergo IPAA again and would recommend it to others respectively, in septic group and controls. Functional outcome after IPAA may be influenced by early septic complications. Overall quality of life and satisfaction with surgery are comparable with those of controls.

Treatment of complex perianal fistulas in Crohn disease: infliximab, surgery or combined approach.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of the management of perianal fistulas in Crohn disease between infliximab, surgery or a combination of surgery and infliximab. METHODS: We prospectively subdivided 35 consecutive patients with Crohn disease with complex perianal fistulas into 3 groups: 11 patients received infliximab (5 mg/kg intravenously at 0, 2 and 6 wk; group A), 10 underwent surgery (group B) and 14 received a combination of surgery and postoperative infliximab (group C). We evaluated the rate and time of healing of perianal fistulas, the rate of recurrences and time to relapse at a median follow-up of 18.8 (standard deviation [SD] 10.8, range 8-38) months. RESULTS: The time to healing of fistulas was significantly shorter among patients who received surgery and infliximab than among those who received surgery alone (p < 0.05) and was close to statistically shorter among those who received both treatments than among those who received infliximab alone (p = 0.06). Patients who received surgery and infliximab had a significantly longer mean time to relapse (p < 0.05) than those who received infliximab (mean 2.6 [SD 0.7] mo) or surgery alone (mean 3.6 [SD 0.5] mo). CONCLUSION: We found better outcomes among patients who received a combination of surgery and infliximab therapy. These patients experienced a short time to healing of fistulas and significantly longer mean time to relapse of complex fistulas.

Quality of life in patients with ileal pouch for ulcerative colitis.

The improvement of surgery in the treatment of ulcerative colitis prompts us to consider its impact on the quality of life of the patients. Obviously, it is mandatory that the results after surgery should be better than the symptoms which elective surgery is designed to treat. A review of the literature was carried out on the current status of quality of life in patients with ulcerative colitis before and after surgery using a PubMed source. The rate of success after restorative proctocolectomy for ulcerative colitis is 95%. The quality of life after restorative proctocolectomy compared with other procedures is better, especially in the long term. About 90% of patients would undergo pouch surgery again after restorative proctocolectomy, while 53% of patients submitted to other procedures would have a restorative proctocolectomy. Restorative proctocolectomy is the gold standard for patients with ulcerative colitis who are suitable for surgical treatment, though future prospective trials are needed in order to establish when elective surgery for ulcerative colitis is indicated.

D-shape asymmetric and symmetric excision with primary closure in the treatment of sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease.

BACKGROUND: Off-midline closure after excision and primary closure in the treatment of sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease has been suggested to improve surgical outcomes and reduce median recurrence rate. The aim of this study was to investigate several features known to be related to recurrence, allowing adequate comparison of recurrence between D-shaped asymmetric and symmetric excision in the treatment of sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease. METHODS: An analysis of a prospectively maintained database of 569 surgical excisions performed for sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease between 1988 and 2007 was performed. RESULTS: The recurrence rate was lower in the asymmetric (n = 423) than in the symmetric (n = 101) group (9% vs 22.0%, P = .0001). After a median follow-up period of 11 years, 5-year 10-year, and 20-year disease-free survival rates were higher in the asymmetric group (94%, 92%, and 89% vs 84%, 79%, and 71%, respectively, P = .005). CONCLUSIONS: D-shaped asymmetric excision is an effective treatment of sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus. Better long-term recurrence rates are achieved compared with symmetric excision, when stratified for several features known to be related to recurrence.