Bowel Surgery
Surgeons at Cedars-Sinai provide expert treatment for intestinal conditions, from inflammatory bowel disease to short bowel syndrome. We use advanced techniques to help preserve as much bowel function as possible.
Why Bowel Surgery?
The bowel helps us digest food and liquid, absorb nutrients and begin the process of discarding waste. If a bowel condition affects your bowel function and causes uncomfortable symptoms, surgery can help.
In some cases, we may recommend partial removal of the bowel. We specialize in preserving healthy bowel tissue, which can improve the ability to use the bathroom and your overall quality of life.
Bowel Conditions We Treat Surgically
We typically recommend surgery to help with conditions such as:
- Crohn's disease and Crohn's disease in children
- Fecal incontinence and fecal (idiopathic) incontinence
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
- Short bowel syndrome
- Ulcerative colitis and ulcerative colitis in children
Bowel Surgery We Perform at Cedars-Sinai
Colorectal surgeons at Cedars-Sinai have the experience and training to perform many bowel surgery procedures, including strictureplasty, bowel resection, and pouch surgery and repairs.
Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) Surgery (Strictureplasty)
Our surgeons are committed to preserving bowel function to help you improve the quality of your life. We use techniques that we've developed through years of experience.
Instead of removing part of the bowel to treat IBD, we remove scar tissue caused by inflammation. This method of removal can also help you avoid complications such as short bowel syndrome.
Bowel Resection
Bowel resection can also treat IBD. We may recommend this surgery if other treatments, such as strictureplasty, don't provide sufficient relief. Our surgeons are experts in minimally invasive techniques. We use tiny incisions to access the intestine and remove the diseased part of the bowel while preserving healthy tissue.
Learn about what to expect when having bowel resection surgery.
Pouch Surgery
Our team may need to remove a large amount of bowel to help you get well. We may then perform an additional procedure to help your body eliminate waste, such as:
- J-pouch surgery: This procedure restores the body's ability to remove waste without using an ostomy bag. Our surgeons create a pouch at the end of the bowel to replace the rectum and connect it directly to the anus. J-pouch surgery is a complex procedure that can restore your ability to have a bowel movement and improve your quality of life.
- K-pouch surgery: We connect the bowel to a valve that we create on your abdomen. The valve allows waste to exit the body through a catheter.
- Pouch repair surgery: If you've already had pouch surgery, our team may be able to improve your quality of life by using a different procedure. We also offer revision surgery to help preserve continence.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
Chronic inflammation in the bowels can result from several different conditions, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Our nationally recognized inflammatory bowel disease experts are working on groundbreaking research to help find a cure.
Have Questions or Need Help?
If you need a diagnosis, treatment or second opinion, call the Colorectal Surgery care team. You can also have us call you back at your convenience.