In some cases, Crohn’s disease-related inflammation can lead to intestinal blockage. Left untreated, an intestinal blockage can lead to serious complications.
Crohn’s disease is a chronic condition that causes irritation and inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The disease most often affects the small and large intestine. However, inflammation can occur anywhere in the GI tract, from mouth to anus.
The chronic inflammation of your intestines can cause them to become thicker, or edematous. The inside lining of your intestine can swell, giving your food or stool less room to move. This can put you at risk of blockages in your intestines.
The symptoms of a chronic blockage may include crampy abdominal pain, bloating, and nausea shortly after a meal. You can determine the site of the blockage based on how long after a meal you develop symptoms.
If it occurs less than 1 hour after eating, it’s likely that the blockage is in the small intestine. If it occurs longer than an hour after eating, it suggests the blockage is in the colon. If symptoms happen all or most of the time after eating, you may have strictures as well as swelling.
Vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation may sometimes occur as well.
The types of blockages that can occur include:
Strictures
The chronic intestinal inflammation that characterizes Crohn’s disease may also lead to the development of scar tissue in your intestines.
As the cycle of inflammation and scarring continues, part of the intestinal tract may become narrow. This narrowed area is known as a stricture, or stenosis. If a stricture becomes too narrow, it may eventually block your intestinal tract.
If you have an intestinal stricture and you eat something that’s difficult to digest, the food you’ve eaten may lead to a bowel obstruction. Foods that can cause a bowel obstruction include raw vegetables, popcorn, or nuts.
The stricture itself can also become inflamed and cause blockages as well.
Crohn’s disease affects the entire thickness of the bowel wall. This makes strictures more common in people who have ulcerative colitis, which typically affects only the inner lining of the bowel. Bowel obstructions with strictures may be temporary or permanent.
Adhesions
Internal organs normally have slippery surfaces that keep them from sticking together while your body is moving. Adhesions are bands of tissue that form on the surface of your organs. They can make your organs stick together.
Adhesions are frequently caused by abdominal surgery. It’s estimated that
For most people, adhesions are painless and don’t cause any problems at all. However, for some people, the adhesion may cause the intestine to become fixed, or stuck on another organ. Additionally, the adhesions may form between different parts of the small or large bowel. If a fixed intestine becomes twisted, it can lead to an obstruction.
Most bowel obstructions caused by adhesions will get better without surgery. However, you may require the temporary placement of a nasogastric (NG) tube to alleviate symptoms related to the obstruction. This involves placing a narrow plastic tube through your nose and into your stomach. The tube is then attached to a vacuum suction. It removes any excess gas or fluids in your stomach that are present because of the obstruction. In very severe and rare cases, surgery is required to cut the adhesions and untwist the bowel.
A person with temporary small bowel obstruction will usually get better within 48 hours of an NG tube placement. Eventually, they can advance to a clear fluid diet or take anti-inflammatory medications aimed at reducing the swelling and inflammation produced by .
In more serious cases, high dose steroids and a sterilized liquid diet will usually help reduce the swelling.
Endoscopy
When the blockage is predominantly because of strictures, drugs often aren’t effective. In these cases, a doctor or healthcare professional may perform an endoscopy to both diagnose any strictures and treat possible blockages.
During an endoscopy, a doctor passes an inflatable balloon through an endoscope, which is a long thin tube with a camera on the end. They pass it through your mouth and into your stomach and small intestine to dilate the area of scarring. Success rates are very high for this procedure. An endoscopy may relieve symptoms for weeks, months, or even years for some people.
Surgery
If the area isn’t accessible with an endoscope, surgery may be necessary. Surgery is generally reserved for people who continue to experience bowel obstruction despite the conservative therapies mentioned above. Also, if you develop a severe complication of obstruction, such as bowel necrosis or perforation, it’s likely that you’ll need emergency surgery.
The two types of surgery performed on people with Crohn’s disease of the small bowel are resection, which involves removing the scarred area of the intestine, and strictureplasty, which involves restructuring the area of the stricture to make it wide again and allow the passage of stool and intestinal contents.
The people who are the best candidates for strictureplasty are those who’ve had a resection before or who have very severe Crohn’s disease symptoms. Many of those who receive strictureplasty are able to stop taking medications and stay in remission from Crohn’s disease.
Strictures that are opened with strictureplasty usually remain open. People who have the procedure will generally only require surgery again if new strictures form elsewhere. Most people who’ve had the surgery will begin to eat normally and even gain weight after the operation.
Here are some questions people often ask about intestinal blockages.
How do you fix Crohn’s blockage?
A liquid diet and medication may initially be used to treat a Crohn’s blockage. If that doesn’t work, surgery may be needed.
How do you clear an intestinal obstruction?
A complete intestinal obstruction is a medical emergency that often requires surgery.
For a partial bowel obstruction, your doctor may recommend waiting to see if it will clear on its own without surgery. Be sure to follow your doctor’s orders, which may include taking any medications exactly as prescribed and switching to a liquid diet.
How long can you live with obstructed bowel?
A bowel obstruction can be fatal if not treated. People who have a complete bowel obstruction and aren’t receiving fluids may only survive a few days to a few weeks. If they are receiving fluids, they may survive for up to two months.
Even a partial bowel obstruction is a serious problem that requires immediate medical attention.
What are the symptoms of an obstruction of the bowel?
The most common symptoms of a bowel obstruction include:
- stomach pain, cramping, and swelling
- audible bowel noises
- bloating
- vomiting
- trouble passing gas
- constipation
What does a Crohn’s blockage feel like?
A Crohn’s blockage may leave you feeling full, bloated, or gassy. You may have trouble passing gas or feel constipated. You may also experience nausea or vomiting.
Call a doctor right away if you’re experiencing:
- nausea
- vomiting
- bloating
- diarrhea
- constipation
- abdominal pain, which may be crampy
- a high fever
- intractable vomiting
- an inability to pass gas or stool
Intestinal blockage is very treatable. However, if you don’t receive prompt treatment, the blocked parts of the intestine can start to die. Not getting prompt treatment can lead to very serious complications such as a life threatening infection called sepsis.
