Hemorrhoidectomy and Excision of Skin Tags in IBD: Harbinger of Doom or Simply a Disease Running Its Course?

Endoscopic Evaluation of the Ileal Pouch

BACKGROUND

Structural and inflammatory adverse sequelae are common after restorative proctocolectomy and IPAA. On rare occasions, neoplasia can occur in patients with ileal pouches. Pouchoscopy plays a key role in the diagnosis, differential diagnosis, disease monitoring, assessment of treatment response, surveillance, and delivery of therapy.

OBJECTIVE

A systematic review of the literature was performed, and principles and techniques of pouchoscopy were described.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases.

STUDY SELECTION

Relevant articles on endoscopy in ileal pouches published between January 2000 and May 2023 were included based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

INTERVENTION

Diagnostic, surveillance, and therapeutic endoscopy in ileal pouch disorders were included.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Accurate characterization of the ileal pouch in healthy or diseased states.

RESULTS

The main anatomic structures of a J- or S-pouch are the stoma closure site, prepouch ileum, inlet, tip of the "J," pouch body, anastomosis, cuff, and anal transition zone. Each anatomic location can be prone to the development of structural, inflammatory, or neoplastic disorders. For example, ulcers and strictures are common at the stoma closure site, inlet, and anastomosis. Leaks are commonly detected at the tip of the "J" and anastomosis. Characterization of the anastomotic distribution of inflammation is critical for the differential diagnosis of subtypes of pouchitis and other inflammatory disorders of the pouch. Neoplastic lesions, albeit rare, mainly occur at the cuff, anal transition zone, or anastomosis.

LIMITATIONS

This is a qualitative, not quantitative, review of mainly case series.

CONCLUSIONS

Most structural, inflammatory, and neoplastic disorders can be reliably diagnosed with a careful pouchoscopy. The endoscopist and other clinicians taking care of pouch patients should be familiar with the anatomy of the ileal pouch and be able to recognize common abnormalities. See video from symposium.

Excisional haemorrhoidectomy in Crohn's disease - is it time to question an old dogma?

BACKGROUND

Haemorrhoidectomy in Crohn's disease is controversial due to fears over poor wound healing leading to proctectomy. We aim to review the available literature and establish the role of excisional haemorrhoidectomy in Crohn's disease.

METHODS

A review of the current scientific literature was conducted using Medline, PubMed and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials. Clinical trials from 2005 to present, reporting outcomes of excisional haemorrhoidectomy in Crohn's disease, were included. Review articles and case reports were excluded.

RESULTS

A cohort of 67 patients across four studies was included in this review. There were no reported cases of proctectomy related to haemorrhoidectomy or poor wound healing. One patient (1.5%) had a non-healing wound post-operatively. Four (6%) cases of post-operative bleeding were identified, two (3%) patients were diagnosed with anal fissures and two (3%) were treated after developing perianal abscess post-procedure. There was one (1.5%) case of urinary retention, and one (1.5%) subject developed an anal stricture.

CONCLUSION

The current available evidence suggests a role for excisional haemorrhoidectomy in Crohn's disease patients with well-controlled symptomatic disease, though further prospective analysis is certainly warranted. The preferred operation (open vs closed) remains unclear.

FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS

Further prospective trials are required to investigate the optimal approach to haemorrhoidectomy in Crohn's disease.

Surgical Management of Hemorrhoidal Disease in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review with Proportional Meta-Analysis

Surgical treatment of hemorrhoidal disease (HD) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been considered to be potentially harmful, but the evidence for this is poor. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature was undertaken to reappraise the safety and effectiveness of surgical treatments in this special circumstance. A MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library search was performed to retrieve studies reporting the outcomes of surgical treatment of HD in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). From a total of 2072 citations, 10 retrospective studies including 222 (range, 2-70) patients were identified. Of these, 119 (54%) had CD and 103 (46%) UC. Mean age was between 41 and 49 years (range 14-77). Most studies lacked information on the interval between surgery and the onset of complications. Operative treatments included open or closed hemorrhoidectomy (n = 156 patients (70%)), rubber band ligation (n = 39 (18%)), excision or incision of thrombosed hemorrhoid (n = 14 (6%)), and doppler-guided hemorrhoidal artery ligation (DG-HAL, n = 13 (6%)). In total, 23 patients developed a complication (pooled prevalence, 9%; (95%CI, 3-16%)), with a more than two-fold higher rate in patients with CD compared to UC (11% (5-16%) vs. 5% (0-13%), respectively). Despite the low quality evidence, surgical management of HD in IBD and particularly in CD patients who have failed nonoperative therapy should still be performed with caution and limited to inactive disease. Further studies should determine whether advantages in terms of safety and effectiveness with the use of non-excisional techniques (e.g., DG-HAL) can be obtained in this patient population.

Anorectal Strictures in Complex Perianal CD: How to Approach?

Anorectal strictures are a notoriously difficult to treat phenotype of perianal Crohn's disease. Quality of life is diminished due to ongoing pain, incontinence, difficulty with stool evacuation, and recurrent medical and surgical treatments. Medical therapy is aimed at treating luminal disease and mucosal ulceration to prevent worsening of fibrosis. Clinical examination and endoscopic intervention can be used for serial dilations of strictures. Unfortunately, despite optimal medical therapy and endoscopic intervention with serial anal dilations, surgery with intestinal diversion or proctocolectomy may be required as part of the treatment algorithm in a significant proportion of patients.

Hemorrhoidal surgery in patients with IBD: caution is the parent of safety

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of hemorrhoidal surgery in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) undergoing surgery at our center.

METHODS

All adult patients with IBD undergoing hemorrhoidal surgery in our department between November 1, 2013 and July 7, 2020 were included in the study. At the time of surgery, the patients' IBD was in clinical, biological and endoscopic remission, and none of the patients had specific primary anoperineal lesions.

RESULTS

We included 25 patients (48% female) with a mean age 48 years (± 13.1 years). There were 13 cases of CD (52%) and 12 of ulcerative colitis (UC). Pharmacological and instrumental hemorrhoidal treatment had failed in all patients. The CD lesions were exclusively ileal (77%) or ileocolic (23%). The surgical procedures performed for CD were mono-hemorrhoidectomy in three patients (21.4%), tripedicular hemorrhoidectomy in six patients (42.9%), and artery ligations with mucopexy in five patients (35.7%). UC was rectal (16.7%), rectosigmoid (66.7%), or pancolic (16.6%). The surgical procedures performed for UC were a tripedicular hemorrhoidectomy in ten patients (83.3%) and artery ligations with mucopexy in two patients (16.7%). The mean duration of postoperative follow-up was 15.1 months. None of the patients was lost to follow-up. The mean time to wound healing after resection was 71.1 days (± 21 days) for patients with CD and 56.9 days (± 6.7 days) for patients with UC (p = 0.05). Postoperative complications were reported for four patients with CD (28.8%) and two patients with UC (16.7%). There was no suppuration, stenosis, or anal incontinence sequelae.

CONCLUSIONS

Hemorrhoidal surgery resulted in a non-negligible frequency of complications in our series of IBD patients, especially in those with CD. Caution is, therefore, still necessary in this patient population.

Management of Isolated Anal Strictures in Crohn's Disease

BACKGROUND

Anorectal stricturing is a particularly morbid manifestation of Crohn's disease resulting in a diminished quality of life related to pain, incontinence, and recurrent operative interventions.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the role of medical therapy, endoscopic dilation, and surgical intervention for the treatment of isolated anorectal stricturing.

DATA SOURCES

An organized search of MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Database of Collected Reviews was performed from January 1, 1990 through May 1, 2020.

STUDY SELECTION

Full text papers which included management of isolated anorectal strictures in the setting of Crohn's disease.

INTERVENTION(S)

Medical and surgical management.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Symptomatic relief, need for proctocolectomy.

RESULTS

Our search identified a total of 553 papers; after exclusion based on title (n = 430) and abstract (n = 47), 76 underwent full text review with 65 relevant to the management of anorectal strictures. A summary of the retrospective reports suggests that medical therapy can help control luminal inflammation, but fibrosis may ultimately set in resulting in a need for endoscopic or surgical intervention. Surgical options are limited in the anal canal due to inflammation and ulceration and concomitant perianal fistulizing disease. While fecal diversion can provide symptomatic relief, successful restoration of intestinal continuity remains uncommon and most patients ultimately undergo a total proctocolectomy with end ileostomy.

LIMITATIONS

Limited literature published, all retrospective in nature.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite significant advances in medical and surgical therapy in Crohn's disease over the last decades, there is clearly an unmet need in the management of anorectal strictures in Crohn's disease.

Excisional haemorrhoidectomy: is it safe in patients with an ileal pouch-anal anastomosis?

AIM

Excisional haemorrhoidectomy in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), especially those undergoing an ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA), remains controversial. The aim of our study was to determine the safety of excisional haemorrhoidectomy in UC patients with and without an IPAA.

METHOD

A retrospective review of all adult UC patients undergoing excisional haemorrhoidectomy between 1 January 1995 and 1 January 2019 at a tertiary inflammatory bowel disease referral centre was performed. Data collected included patient demographics, clinical characteristics of UC, prior surgical intervention for UC (colectomy, IPAA) and complications after haemorrhoidectomy.

RESULTS

Forty-one adult patients [50% male; median age 52 (range 25-79) years] with UC underwent excisional haemorrhoidectomy between 1 January 1995 and 1 January 2019. The majority (n = 23) had not previously undergone surgery for UC. However, eight had already undergone construction of an IPAA at the time of haemorrhoidectomy, seven had IPAA at the time of haemorrhoidectomy and three had an IPAA constructed subsequent to haemorrhoidectomy. Two (4.9%) patients need to go back to theatre for postoperative bleeding. There were no further 30-day complications or long-term nonhealing of the surgical site. There were no pouch complications in those who had haemorrhoidectomy at the time of IPAA construction or in the presence of an IPAA.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that excisional haemorrhoidectomy may be performed safely in carefully selected UC patients with symptomatic haemorrhoids with or without IPAA and even at the time of IPAA construction.

Perianal Crohn's Disease

A 22-year-old man presents to your office with a perianal abscess and occasional mild crampy abdominal pain. You take him to the operating room for an examination under anesthesia (EUA) with incision and drainage of the abscess and note a transphincteric fistula tract through which you place a seton and 2 large skin tags. The anal canal and rectum are without ulceration, but there are mild proctitis and nonprolapsing internal hemorrhoids. Because of a concern for Crohn's disease (CD), he undergoes magnetic resonance enterography and colonoscopy. The magnetic resonance enterography shows inflammation in 20 cm of the distal terminal ileum, and colonoscopy reveals approximately 10 ulcers <5 mm in the terminal ileum without significant narrowing. He is seen in consultation for the initiation of a monoclonal antibody and returns to see you in the office after his first 3 infusions. He is feeling well, has significantly decreased drainage from the perianal fistula, but would really like his seton and skin tags removed while you are there.

Inflammatory bowel disease position statement of the Italian Society of Colorectal Surgery (SICCR): Crohn's disease

The Italian Society of Colorectal Surgery (SICCR) promoted the project reported here, which consists of a position statement of Italian colorectal surgeons to address the surgical aspects of Crohn's disease management. Members of the society were invited to express their opinions on several items proposed by the writing committee, based on evidence available in the literature. The results are presented, focusing on relevant points. The present paper is not an alternative to available guidelines; rather, it offers a snapshot of the attitudes of SICCR surgeons about the surgical treatment of Crohn's disease. The committee was able to identify some points of major disagreement and suggested strategies to improve quality of available data and acceptance of guidelines.