ABSTRACT
Crohn’s disease (CD) is an idiopathic, chronic inflammatory disease, and it can involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract, i.e. from mouth to the anus. CD is a transmural inflammatory process that involves all layers of the bowel wall, and it is characterised by episodic progression of symptomatic relapse and remission. The characteristic signs and symptoms in small bowel CD are abdominal pain and diarrhoea, typical for an inflammatory process involving the gastrointestinal tract. Intestinal obstruction represents a common complication of small bowel CD. Chronic obstruction, on the other hand, is the most common indication for surgery in small bowel CD. Fistulas along with associated abscesses or strictures are another common complication of small bowel CD that can require surgical management. Perforation, haemorrhage and neoplasia are relatively less common indications for surgery in small bowel CD. The causes of massive haemorrhage in CD patients are transmural ulcers that can erode into moderate-sized blood vessels in the mucosa or submucosa.
