Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Q And A With Dr. Sanaullah

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term used to describe disorders that involve chronic inflammation of your digestive tract. Prolonged inflammation may result in damage of the gastrointestinal tract. 

In this video, Dr. Sanaullah, an expert Colorectal Surgeon in Lahore, explains the subject in detail. He is a foreign-trained M.D and FRCS (surgery) and is also an experienced general, laparoscopic surgeon.

Q.1. What is inflammatory bowel disease?

Well, basically, it represents a group of intestinal disorders that cause prolonged inflammation of the digestive tract. They also include many conditions but the two main conditions are Ulcerative colitis (inflammation of the large intestine) and Crohn’s disease (mostly affects the tail end of the small intestine).

Q.2. What are the symptoms of inflammation of the bowel?

If one has ulcerative colitis that affects the large intestine, then patients experience, blood in the stool, stomach pain, loose motions, loss of appetite and fever. 

Crohn’s disease can cause inflammation in any part of the digestive tract. However, it mostly affects the tail end of the small intestine. Its symptoms include blood in stool, malabsorption, anaemia and diarrhoea. I would also like to mention that Crohn’s disease symptoms depend on the area in which it affects.

Q.3. What causes inflamed bowel disease (IBD)?

The main reasons for IBD are genetic. Some people get it from their parents whilst others have it as a result of an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune disease occurs when your own system starts to attack your body and its organs. The autoimmune may later cause inflammatory bowel disease.

Q.4. How do you diagnose Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

To diagnose inflammatory bowel disease, there are some tests that need to be done. These include a blood test, fecal test. However, the gold standard of tests for IBD is a colonoscopy.

If however, the patient is in too much pain for a colonoscopy, MRI or CT scan can also be done.

Q.5. What are the treatment options for inflammatory bowel disease?

The mainstay treatment for IBD is management by medications. These include steroids, biological agents and immune suppressants. If the medication becomes unresponsive in case of complications or extreme inflammation, then we perform surgical laparoscopic procedures.

If you want to learn more about treatment options for IBD, watch the full interview. Consult a colorectal or laparoscopic surgeon or a gastroenterologist if you have inflammatory bowel disease.

Book an appointment with a top general surgeon through oladoc.com, or call our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT professional for your concerns.