Taha Qazi, MD: Improving the Quality of Life for Patients Following Pouch Surgery

Patients with ulcerative colitis who have to undergo redo ileal pouch anal anastomosis often see significant improvements in quality of life and regularly recommend the redo procedure to others in a similar situation.

In data presented during the 2023 Digestive Disease Week (DDW) in Chicago, a team of investigators from the Cleveland Clinic explored different quality of life metrics in patients who undergo a redo procedure, including quality of health, daily bowel movements during the daytime and nighttime, septic complications, dietary restrictions, social restrictions, sexual restrictions, quality of energy, seepage, and more.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Taha Qazi, MD, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Cleveland Clinic, explained that there should be more communication with patients about what to expect when undergoing ileal pouch anal anastomosis.

“The big thing that keeps coming up is that we don’t really discuss what patients should expect once they have a pouch creation,” Qazi said.

Qazi said one of the first questions asked is predominately about how many daily bowel movements the patient should expect once the surgery is complete. But there also needs to be a discussion on things like dietary restrictions, sexual performance, and other quality of life metrics.