NEW YORK, May 3 (UPI) -- "Side-to-side isoperistaltic stricturoplasty" can alleviate the pain of Crohn's disease while sparing the intestine, says a U.S. surgeon.
The procedure is a welcome alternative to traditional methods, which rely on removing part of the intestine and repeating the procedure each time the disease spreads, according Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi of the Weill Cornell Medical College and surgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.
Crohn's disease attacks and inflames the intestine, making it difficult for food to pass. Patients must often restrict their diet to soft or even liquid meals yet still endure bouts of abdominal pain and nausea.
With the "side-to-side isoperistaltic stricturoplasty," Michelassi makes a small incision in the patient's stomach and draws out the diseased part of the intestine -- coiling it on the patient's stomach like a garden hose, or, from another perspective, drawing the lengths "side to side."
He cuts the two lengths of intestine horizontally and, in a long and intricate process, sews the edges together to make a wider length of intestine from the two narrower ones.
