Surgery for colitis

The colon, or large intestine has the purpose to expel the remaining of digested food that can’t be used out of our body through the anus. Colitis is the name used for the infection of the large intestine. Colitis can be long-lasting or chronic and acute. This problem is caused usually by eating food that is unhealthy, drinking bad water and deficiency of sanitation. Colitis can be the result of viral infections, which are quite often caused by eating toxic food. If that is the case, diarrhea with blood in stools will appear and a person could dehydrate. Pseudomembranous colitis appears due to the arousal of Clostridium bacteria. This type of colitis is caused by usage of antibiotics, because they affect bacteria in the bowls, damaging their natural environment. There are four types of colitis: ischemic, microscopic, chemical colitis, and inflammatory. If you react when initial signs appear, you are on the right track to avoid the surgery of the intestine. There are some general signs that indicate any type of colitis and those are diarrhea and acute pain. This condition can be caused by genetic factors and dysfunction of the immune system. The basic thing is to maintain your hygiene. After every activity, it is advisable to wash your hands. When cleaning the house, you should pay attention to your kitchen especially, because it can easily become a home for germs. Therapy should begin with medicines.

Ulcerative colitis is a type of colitis where medications are not efficient enough. The results say that 25 to 40 percent of patients with this condition need to have an operation. Surgery is needed when other treatments are not effective or when the condition worsens. With this type of operation the colon will be removed. During this surgery, the first step that is done is called ileostonomy. That includes removal of the colon, rectum and anus. Then a small intestine is performing the functions of the anus through a hole in a stomach. A bag is attached to that hole. You should empty the contents from the bag when needed. People are often uncomfortable with this because they are worried that they will smell bad, but there is no need for that kind of worry. There is another procedure that can be done. It is called restorative proctocolectomy. The patients require this procedure more often. Here a patient won’t have a hole in his or her stomach and the anus will not removed, so he can defecate through it. But the colon and rectum must be taken out of the body. After this, a patient will have to use the ostomy bag for a few months. The procedure like this allows people to function normally after the healing process is over.