Posted 3/28/2016 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
The type of surgery depends on where your Crohn's is located. Most of the time it will be a resection - a removal of the diseased segment of bowel and the stitching of the two ends together. But sometimes a temporary or permanent stoma may be created. A temporary stoma is used to divert stool away from disease low down in the rectum or colon in order to encourage fistulas and abscesses to heal. Sometimes a temporary stoma is given after an emergency resection, because the patient may be at too high a risk of a leak at the surgical join otherwise.
Permanent stomas are usually only necessary if the entire colon needs to come out and the surgeon has nothing left at the other end to reconnect the small bowel to.
Surgery isn't a permanent fix for Crohn's. In most cases it comes back after surgery, often many years later but sometimes much quicker than that. The prognosis is best if you have Crohn's colitis with no small bowel disease and a permanent ileostomy, i.e. that's the situation in which the Crohn's has the least chance of returning.
In a few cases strictures can be dilated without the need for a resection, i.e. strictureplasty or balloon dilation. There's also fistula repairs, which I don't know much about.
Basically, if you're thinking about surgery you should book an appointment with a colorectal surgeon. It doesn't commit you to having surgery if you don't want it, but you will learn which surgery will be suitable for your type of Crohn's.