Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Our consultants diagnose and treat a wide variety of inflammatory bowel diseases. The most common types are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

We also provide treatment for other types of colitis, including diverticular, diversion, indeterminate, infectious, ischaemic, radiation and colitis associated with medication.

Complications of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease can cause other conditions in your digestive system and throughout your body. Our IBD consultants look at the whole picture and evaluate and treat many of these complications.

Fistulas

Inflammation, often related to Crohn’s disease, can cause fistulas. We treat fistulas between the intestine and skin (enterocutaneous), the bowel and vagina (entero-vaginal), the bowel and bladder (entero-vesical) and the anorectum and skin (perianal Crohn’s disease fistulas).

Pouch complications

We evaluate and treat complications with ileoanal pouch surgery, like pouchitis (inflammation of the pouch). We do pouch revisions (repairing the pouch) and pouch excision (surgically removing the pouch).

Other conditions

IBD can cause complications throughout your body. We also evaluate and treat:

• Problems with blood clotting (coagulation)
• Colon dysplasia (abnormal cells in your colon) and colorectal cancer
• Eye conditions like uveitis and episcleritis
• Narrowing of your intestines due to scar tissue (colon strictures)
• Scars in your bile ducts from inflammation (primary sclerosing cholangitis)
• Fatty liver disease
• Autoimmune liver disease
• Issues with your lungs
• Musculoskeletal conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis and osteonecrosis
• Skin conditions

Our GI specialists use several different tests to diagnose IBD. We may examine your stool to determine the severity of the inflammation. We might also order a CT scan or an MRI. These imaging tests give us more detailed images of your gastrointestinal tract. We may also want to perform an endoscopy. This minimally invasive procedure uses a thin instrument with a camera at the end (endoscope) to take pictures of your digestive system.

Surgery for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

If less invasive methods aren’t working, your consultant may recommend surgery to treat your IBD. We specialise in laparoscopic, endoscopic and robotic procedures. These surgeries are less invasive than traditional surgery and can result in shorter recovery times. We focus on treatment that helps you feel your best while preserving as much bowel function as possible.

Depending on your condition, you may have:

• Colectomy (bowel resection surgery). Your surgeon removes part or all of your colon.
• Enterocutaneous fistula (ECF) surgery. This intricate procedure closes an abnormal connection between your intestines and skin.
• Ileoanal pouch procedure. If you’ve had your large bowel removed, the surgeons will construct an ileoanal pouch, so you can store and pass stools as before.

How Much Does Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treatment Cost at Cleveland Clinic London?

Your cost for IBD care will depend on the treatment you need. For your convenience, we offer both self-pay services and the option to use private medical insurance. Our consultants are here to help you navigate this process, discuss cost estimates with you and answer any questions you might have regarding the financial side of your care.

What’s Next?

Living with inflammatory bowel disease can be challenging, but with the right team, it’s manageable. Our IBD experts are here to help you. We specialise in many different inflammatory bowel conditions and customise your management plan to match your specific needs. Through this personal approach to care, we can help you move forward with confidence.