Ileitis and pouchitis after colectomy for ulcerative colitis.

Ileitis can occur after surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis. Following continent ileostomy or restorative proctocolectomy ileitis can become a serious clinical problem and is then known as pouchitis although this condition is yet to be clearly defined. It is likely that pouchitis is the result of an abnormal host response to a change in bacterial flora and that the nature of this host response is related to the underlying pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis. Continued study of the immunological basis of ulcerative colitis is therefore required to solve the problem of pouchitis.