Iatrogenic ileal obstruction in a patient with Crohn's disease

Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory intestinal disease, whose etiology is still unknown. Although the whole gastrointestinal tract may be affected, the ileum and colon are frequently involved. Histopathologic findings are characterized by granulomas, when present, and chronic inflammation extending through all intestinal wall layers, edema, ulcers, and fibrosis, leading to wall thickening and narrowing of the lumen. Typically, the disease is discontinuous and apparently normal areas of bowel separate involved segments. Common complications are abscesses, fistulas, and strictures; the latter justify the frequent occurrence of intestinal obstruction, particularly when the lesions occur in the ileum (1). The present report describes the unusual case of a patient affected by Crohn’s disease suffering from intestinal obstruction with recurrent occlusive symptoms not due to the intestinal disease itself.