Possible Complications of Surgery

Any surgery can come with complications that may require additional medical or surgical intervention. For example, there may be abscesses or infections after surgery that may need to be treated with antibiotics or that require additional surgery to drain any persistent abscesses.

Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS)

Another complication to keep in mind is short bowel syndrome (SBS). If too much of the small intestine is resected, IBD patients can develop SBS. The small intestine helps to absorb many of the nutrients we consume from eating. In SBS, the body is unable to absorb enough nutrients from the foods eaten because there is not enough small intestine to aid in the absorption process and this can lead to diarrhea, weight loss, dehydration and malnutrition among other symptoms. Click here for more information on SBS.

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Written by Tina Aswani Omprakash. Medically reviewed and validated by Jordan Axelrad, MD, MPH. These webpages are funded by a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.