Ulcerative colitis and familial polyposis

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic idiopathic illness that causes cramping abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. It is managed medically but can only be cured surgically. However, there is significant morbidity associated with the surgical remedies. For this reason, families and gastroenterologists generally utilize medical management until the affected children have suffered considerable morbidity. When finally coming to surgical therapy, it is unusual for the child to be doing well with minimal toxicity from the medical therapy. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.