Proctocolectomy is the
surgical
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
removal of the
rectum
The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the Gastrointestinal tract, gut in others. The adult human rectum is about long, and begins at the rectosigmoid junction (the end of the s ...
and all or part of the
colon. It is the most widely accepted surgical method for
ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and a ...
and
familial adenomatous polyposis
Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is an autosomal dominant inherited condition in which numerous Adenomatous polyps, adenomatous Colorectal polyp, polyps form mainly in the epithelium of the colon (anatomy), large intestine. While these polyps s ...
(FAP).
A proctocolectomy is considered a cure for ulcerative colitis, as the disease only attacks the large intestine and the rectum, and the disease cannot flare-up again, but extra-intestinal symptoms will remain. It can also be performed for
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension ...
that has damaged the entire large intestine and caused complications, but it does not cure or eliminate the disease.
See also
*
List of surgeries by type
Many surgical procedure names can be broken into parts to indicate the meaning. For example, in gastrectomy, "ectomy" is a suffix meaning the removal of a part of the body. "Gastro-" means stomach. Thus, ''gastrectomy'' refers to the surgical remo ...
References
Digestive system surgery
Rectum
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