Despite a treatment armamentarium that continues to increase in terms of medical options for the therapy of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), a significant proportion of patients will require surgical intervention over their disease course. Surgery does not represent a failure of medical therapy in the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); rather, surgery represents an integral feature of the multidisciplinary approach to an individual patient. The timing, factors, and potential outcomes of each therapeutic decision in the pre-, peri- and postoperative periods must be weighed by each member of a multidisciplinary team with the goal of improving the quality of life for patients with IBD. In this article, we review the current evidence underlying approaches to the medical and surgical management of complications of CD and UC. We also outline opportunities for tailored decision-making and potentially earlier surgical intervention with the aim of improving long-term outcomes among patients with IBD.
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