Crohn's disease is an autoimmune inflammation of the digestive tract. The disease proceeds with exacerbations and remissions, and it can never be completely cured. During exacerbations, a person may develop severe complications, so it is important to receive high-quality treatment to make exacerbations less frequent and less severe. Most people with Crohn's disease will need at least one surgical procedure during their lifetime. You can undergo both conservative and surgical treatment of Crohn's disease in Germany to expect the best results.
Content
- Conservative therapy
- Surgical treatment
- Endoscopic treatment
Whenever possible, Crohn's disease is treated with conservative methods. Endoscopic procedures or operations may also be required, the most common of which is the removal of a damaged section of the intestine. In Germany, most interventions are minimally invasive.
You can seek medical attention from the University Hospital Duesseldorf, the University Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, or the University Hospital Ulm.
You do not have to take care of all the arrangements for your trip yourself. Booking Health will take care of everything. We will help you select a clinic, prepare documents, book a hotel and airline tickets for you, meet you at the German airport and take you to the hospital by car.
Conservative therapy
Patients receive constant conservative treatment, but it becomes especially intense during an exacerbation of Crohn's disease. These patients are hospitalized. The therapy involves the use of glucocorticoids, antibiotics, salicylates, immunosuppressants, and, in some cases, monoclonal antibodies. Patients receive infusion therapy to normalize their water and electrolyte metabolism. Some patients require iron supplements to correct anemia due to intestinal bleeding.
Some clinics in Germany use stem cells for the conservative treatment of Crohn's disease. They are prescribed when the disease is resistant to standard drug therapy regimens. Stem cells reduce inflammation and restore the intestine. The lower the affected area, the higher the cell therapy effectiveness. If the areas of inflammation are located in the upper gastrointestinal tract, stem cells will not significantly affect the course of the disease, so in such cases they are usually not used.
Surgical treatment
Surgical procedures are performed in the case of the development of complications of Crohn's disease. These may be as follows:
- acute bleeding;
- intestinal perforation (a through hole in the wall of the organ);
- toxic dilatation (expansion of the intestine);
- strictures (cicatricial changes) that lead to intestinal obstruction;
- fistulas, which are pathological channels that lead to other organs and tissues;
- precancerous changes;
- purulent inflammatory processes in the abdominal cavity.
Complications often occur in the small intestine, while the large intestine is less often affected. Some of them are acute and require urgent surgical treatment, but others are chronic, so the operation can be performed as planned.
The reason for the operation may be not only complications but also the lack of effect of conservative therapy. Surgical treatment for children can be performed if Crohn's disease leads to physical developmental delays.
The main types of operations are:
- partial intestinal resection is the most common treatment option;
- opening of the abscess and its drainage;
- stricturoplasty is a surgical procedure to dilate the small intestine (doctors try not to resect it if possible, since short bowel syndrome leads to malabsorption of nutrients).
Most operations in Germany are performed with laparoscopic techniques. Surgeons make several small punctures to insert thin and long instruments with a tiny video camera instead of a large abdominal incision. After such operations, complications are less common, and rehabilitation is faster.
Endoscopic treatment
Physicians at German medical centers prefer to use treatment methods that are the most sparing for patients and provide them with a high quality of life. In some cases, they use an endoscopic method instead of an open colon resection. This treatment method is resorted to in the case of the development of bowel obstruction due to the formation of strictures.
The essence of the treatment is to dilate the area of the colon. The procedure is called balloon dilation. A balloon is inserted through the anus into the bowel. It is placed in the constriction area and inflated. The balloon expands and stretches the intestine. The procedure is repeated several times.
You can undergo your diagnostics and treatment of Crohn's disease in Germany. You are welcome to use the Booking Health service to find the cost of treatment and choose a medical care program at a favorable price. Our specialists will recommend the best hospitals in Germany and take care of all the arrangements for your trip.
Authors:
The article was edited by medical experts, board-certified doctors Dr. Sergey Pashchenko and Dr. Vadim Zhiliuk. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!
Sources:
Verywell Health
Medscape
PubMed
