Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch reservoir in ulcerative colitis : the first series from Malta

Abstract

Seventy five to eighty percent of patients with ulcerative colitis are more or less satisfactorily treated medically. Surgery cures the disease, but because proper surgical therapy has until recently necessitated a permanent ileostomy, physicians and patients are understandably reluctant to agree to definitive surgical treatment until absolutely necessary.