Crohn's Disease: When Surgery Is Needed

Surgery for Crohn's disease usually is needed if ongoing symptoms do not respond to medicine or if side effects of medicine cause other serious problems.

Surgery may be needed when you have:

• Bowel blockage (obstruction).
• Abscesses or tears (fissures) in the anal area.
• Abnormal connections (fistulas) that form between two parts of the intestine or between the intestine and other internal organs.
• Holes (perforations) in the large intestine.
• Severe disease that does not respond to other treatment.
• Severe bleeding.
• Cancer or precancerous tissue.
• Toxic megacolon. This occurs when the colon swells to many times its normal size. This is an emergency, and surgery may be needed.