title: Rare surgical complications of Crohn's disease. Clinical and therapeutic considerations.
abstract: We present our clinical experience in the management of rare surgical complications in Crohn's disease. Two hundred and eight patients affected by Crohn's disease were treated surgically between January 1992 and September 2001, at the Department of Surgical and Gastroenterological Sciences of the University of Padua. Rare surgical complications were identified in 17 patients (6.2%): 4 with small intestine adenocarcinoma, 5 with massive gastrointestinal bleeding, 5 with free peritoneal perforation and 3 with psoas abscesses. The very substantial clinical variability of Crohn's disease is a constant challenge to researchers. In particular, the high incidence of associated pathologies and complications related to Crohn's disease makes this pathology extremely disabling. In addition, this disease quite often appears to occur together with a rare complication which, though in most cases its course tends to remain unknown, at times may be potentially life-threatening. For this reason, it is crucial to suspect the occurrence of these pathologies, especially in patients responding poorly to therapy or in those whose symptoms suddenly become acute. Early diagnosis and treatment are therefore fundamental for the most appropriate treatment to be administered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Advanced Technologies, 1st Surgical Unit, University Hospital of Catania.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Veroux
authors.forename: Imerio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Angriman
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fiamingo
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Madia
authors.forename: Pierfrancesco
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Veroux
authors.forename: Calogero
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rinzivillo
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caglià
authors.forename: Davide Francesco
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: D'Amico
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies