Laparoscopic Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic autoimmune disorder of multifactorial aetiology affecting the gastrointestinal tract. The most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Crohn’s disease causes multifocal transmural inflammation of the entire gastrointestinal tract, which can lead to stricture and/or fistulas/perforation. Ulcerative colitis affects the mucosal layer of both the rectum and the colon, in continuity from the rectum. Patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease are often affected by weight loss and poor nutrition, which complicate their surgical management. They can also present with extra-intestinal manifestations of the disease. Surgery for inflammatory bowel disease requires specific techniques, which are discussed in the present chapter.