ABSTRACT
The diagnosis of acute colitis encompasses clinical, radiologic, endoscopic, biochemical and microbiologic parameters. Indications for surgery in acute severe colitis include perforation, bleeding, failure to thrive in children and failure of medical therapy to induce remission. Proctocolectomy is largely a surgical legacy technique to approach severe acute colitis. Acute colitis in pregnancy can be quite a therapeutic challenge. There is minimal data on surgery for colitis in pregnancy. Severe acute colitis is a serious, potentially fatal condition that warrants a multi-disciplinary approach involving gastroenterologists, surgeons, radiologists, nutritionists and enterostomal therapists. The right half of the gastrocolic omentum is then divided, and the dissection continued to the right to release the hepatic flexure and ascending colon. A right to left division of the transverse colon is then commenced, starting the dissection at the right lateral cut edge of the mesocolon resulting from the previous ileocolic division.
