title: [Timing of surgical intervention in ulcerative colitis].
abstract: Ulcerative colitis is a borderline disease between medicine and surgery and ultimate evaluation of medical or surgical therapy remains to be settled. Except for the absolute indication for operation (toxic dilatation, perforation, bleeding and etc.), it is not always easy to consider surgery for this disease because so many factors influence its clinical course. Nevertheless, a prudent decision regarding surgery seems mandatory for a reasonable surgical therapy with a low mortality and high curability that enables an earlier rehabilitation and more complete social activity. The total number of primary operative cases of ulcerative colitis in our clinic over a period of March 1954 through the end of December 1983 was 30. A comparison of our experience up to the end of 1965 and since then has shown an operative mortality of 2/14 in the first and 1/16 in the second period, and that all these 3 deaths were through an emergency operation but not through 29 cases of elective surgery. It is emphasized that one of the most important factors influencing outcome of operation is whether or not it is undertaken as an urgent surgery during a hard time of the disease that has failed to respond to intensive medical treatment.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male