LAS VEGAS – Patients with inflammatory bowel disease who are in need of a surgical intervention can pose a special challenge to surgeons who encounter these patients only occasionally.
The question of whether to perform surgery or refer a patient to a higher-volume specialty center can depend on proximity. In some cases, a specialty center isn’t close, or the patient can’t tolerate the required travel. In fact, a recent study showed that 85.8% of IBD patients are treated surgically in hospitals that treat fewer than 50 patients per year (Am J Gastroenterol. 2008;103:2789-98).
In a presentation at the Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium by Global Academy for Medical Education, Larry Whelan, MD, FACS, discussed some of the challenges these patients pose and offered guidance on which cases are best referred to high-volume centers, and the best way to proceed in emergencies.
IBD patients at high-volume centers have lower mortality than do those in low-volume centers, but patients treated at lower-volume centers tend to be sicker, and studies have shown no significant difference in complication rate. This suggests that surgeons shouldn’t be afraid to tackle these cases, according to Dr. Whelan, chief of colorectal surgery at Mount Sinai West, New York.