Inflammatory Bowel Disease Care

Crohn’s disease is a type of IBD that involves chronic inflammation anywhere in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It differs from ulcerative colitis, as Crohn’s can be found in multiple areas of the GI tract.

Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease

People can experience varying severity of symptoms. Most commonly, signs of Crohn’s may include:

• Abdominal pain and cramping
• Abdominal mass
• Bloody stool
• Constipation
• Night sweats
• Severe, persistent diarrhea
• Skin problems
• Swollen joints
• Tender abdomen
• Ulcer (in the mouth or anus)

Diagnosing Crohn’s Disease

If your doctor suspects you have Crohn’s disease, you’ll likely need additional testing. That may include:

• Capsule endoscopy
• Colonoscopy with biopsy
• Computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Enteroscopy
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy
• Stool tests

Imaging may also be needed to diagnose Crohn’s disease. Imaging studies needed may include:

• Capsule endoscopy
• Colonoscopy with biopsy
• Computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy

Treating Crohn’s Disease

Currently, there’s no complete cure for Crohn’s disease, but treatment and therapy have improved dramatically over the years. Our team is constantly seeking out and researching new therapies and approaches to deliver proven, effective care for you.

Your team will include specialists from disciplines outside of gastroenterology to help give you full control over your diagnosis. Together, we’ll create a treatment plan that fits your needs. It may include:

• Antibiotics
• Behavioral therapy
• Dietary changes and modifications
• Infusion
• Injection
• Oral medicine
• Pain management

If a conservative approach doesn’t help manage your Crohn’s flare-ups, your doctors may discuss surgical options. We offer a wide range of minimally invasive and traditional surgeries to ensure you get the results you need.

Surgery may include:

• Colectomy
• J-pouch surgery, in some cases
• Proctocolectomy
• Small bowel resection
• Strictureplasty (also called stricturoplasty)
• Abdominoperineal resection

Ulcerative colitis symptoms may include:

• Abdominal pain
• Anemia
• Dehydration
• Diarrhea (often with blood)
• Eye and skin problems
• Fatigue
• Fevers
• Joint pain
• Nausea
• Rectal bleeding

Diagnosing Ulcerative Colitis

You’ll need additional testing before your doctor can confirm you have ulcerative colitis. Diagnostic tests may include lab or imaging studies, such as:

Lab work:

• Complete blood count (CBC) test
• C-reactive protein screen (CRP)
• Liver function test
• Stool tests

Imaging studies:

• Capsule endoscopy
• Colonoscopy with biopsy
• Computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy

Treating Ulcerative Colitis

After diagnosis, your doctor will work with you to create a plan to minimize flare-ups and prolong remission. You’ll start with a conservative approach to treatment, which may include:

• Dietary changes and modifications
• Infusion
• Injection
• Oral medicine

If these steps don’t help manage your ulcerative colitis, your doctor may recommend surgery. Today, there are many proven minimally invasive approaches to care, helping reduce your pain, speed up recovery time and get you back to what matters most.

Surgical care may include:

• Colectomy
• J-pouch surgery
• Proctocolectomy
• Re-do pouch surgery

Intestinal failure happens when your body can no longer absorb the water, nutrients and electrolytes it needs. While it’s not considered an inflammatory bowel disease, it can be caused by gastrointestinal conditions like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, short-bowel syndrome and intestinal dysmotility. Many people who have intestinal failure have a condition called enterocutaneous fistula as their main reason for treatment.

To help people who have intestinal failure, our Intestinal Failure Program includes the largest team in Florida of top experts in the field to offer comprehensive, compassionate care — all with the goal to help you get your life back.

We’ll work with you and your loved ones to understand your condition, and we’ll collaborate closely together to ensure you get the best possible outcome.

Here, we start with a thorough evaluation to create a long-term plan customized just for you. Your plan may span two to three years for care that gives your body, mind and spirit a chance to heal.

Our team offers the specialized care you need to address your unique condition and any complications that have developed. We’ll bring this specialized care, experienced surgeons and clinical studies to you so you can choose your best path forward.

Sometimes, people who have IBD need to have a stoma surgically created as part of their IBD treatment. A stoma procedure, called an ostomy, creates an opening on the abdomen through which waste can be diverted out of the body.

Enterostomal therapy is specifically for people who’ve had ostomy surgeries, including ileostomies, colostomies and urostomies. Through enterostomal therapy, specialized nurses (sometimes called ET nurses) care for patients before and after their ostomy procedures, assisting them with:

• Initial ostomy appliance changes
• Education on different kinds of ostomy appliances
• Treatments for complications (like blockages or leaking)

If an ostomy is recommended to help treat your IBD, our team will walk you through the steps needed, and our specialized enterostomal therapy nurses will be there to guide you, before and after your surgery.