Crohn’s Disease
Crohn’s disease is an incurable inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal system. The innermost lining of the gastrointestinal tract becomes inflamed, resulting in a range of symptoms and disease. Patients with Crohn’s disease are more likely to develop a fistula, which is a small opening that forms between the bowel and another part of the body.
Diagnosis
Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease include:
- Abdominal cramping
- Abdominal pain
- Ongoing diarrhea
- Chronic constipation
- Bleeding with bowel movements
- Fever
- Extreme tiredness
- Weight loss
- Drainage from the skin around the anus
- Recurring abscesses (infections) and fistula around the anus
- Anal fissures
Crohn’s disease is diagnosed through both a physical exam and medical history.
Treatment
Anti-inflammatory medications and antibiotics are the first option, unless emergency surgery is needed. Surgery is considered when symptoms cannot be controlled through medications. When untreated, Crohn’s disease can become life threatening, resulting in a hole or blockage in the bowel. If a portion of the bowel becomes too scarred or narrow to function properly, your surgeon may remove the diseased portion and reconnect the remaining bowel if possible. If this is not possible, an ostomy may be performed, creating a surgical opening in the abdominal wall for the evacuation of waste.
In some patients, the disease may result in an anorectal abscess. In these cases, surgery will be performed to drain the abscess, allowing the infection the clear up.
Choosing the Right Surgeon
At the Palm Beach Digital Surgery Institute, we’re committed to empowering our patients, sharing options and information so you can make the decision that’s right for you and your family.
Dr. Eduardo Parra-Davila MD, FACS, FASCRS and his team begin by focusing on not just the patient, but their entire family: the support system and people committed to restoring the patient to a better quality of life.
Prior to joining Palm Beach Health Network Physician Group, Dr. Parra served as the Director of Minimally Invasive and Colorectal Surgery and the Director of Hernia and Abdominal Wall Reconstruction at Florida Hospital Celebration Health in Orlando, FL. Previously, he also served as the Director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Program at a Hospital in Boca Raton and as the Chief of General Surgery at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Miami. Dr. Parra-Davila has worked as a clinical assistant professor of surgery at the University of Central Florida, Florida State University and University of Miami.
Dr. Parra performs his surgeries at Good Samaritan Medical Center, located in West Palm Beach. “One of the reasons I came to Good Sam was for the robotic program,” explains Dr. Parra. “It’s a small community hospital with maybe one of the best technologies there is in surgery, and I like that combination.”