Results of surgery for inflammatory bowel disease: a further survey of one hospital region.

Case records have been studied for the results of surgery in 294 patients operated on for inflammatory bowel disease during 1967-72 at 34 non-teaching hospitals within the North-east Metropolitan Hospital Region. All patients treated surgically for acute colitis and those treated for chronic disease by total colectomy were included.The postoperative mortality of the primary surgery was 23.7%. The mortality was 2.1% in patients treated by elective operation, 37.6% in patients coming to urgent operation, and 60.9% in patients treated by emergency operation. The three most important factors affecting the mortality were considered to be: increasing age of the patient, the presence of established colonic dilatation, and preoperative perforation of the colon.