Linear growth after colectomy for ulcerative colitis in childhood.

Eighteen children and adolescents, of a total of 90 treated in our unit between 1982 and 1992, underwent colectomy for ulceractive colitis. Six (6.7%) of the 90 patients had short stature, i.e., a height below the 3rd centile, and 8 of the 18 who had surgery had a subnormal height velocity, i.e., below the 25th centile for age at the time of surgery. Surgery was performed for resistance to medical therapy (n = 13) or toxic megacolon (n = 5). Surgery was followed by catch-up growth, i.e., increasing height velocity, in eight subjects and cessation of the trend of diminishing height velocity, but without catch-up growth, in five. In 11 of the subjects who were prepubertal, the median height velocity increased from 3.85 cm/year preoperatively to 7.35 cm/year postoperatively (p < 0.01). One year after surgery, 14 of the 18 patients were either asymptomatic or substantially improved. Surgery therefore led to improved linear growth and a prolonged symptom-free period in most of the children and adolescents with ulcerative colitis undergoing this treatment.