Abstract

Ulcerative colitis produces repeated improvements and relapses of chronic colonic inflammation. Complications of the disease can include bleeding, toxic megacolon, colon cancer, or colon stricture. While colonic strictures are common in Crohn's disease, this complication rarely appears in ulcerative colitis cases. Unlike in Crohn's disease, where strictures are commonly treated by endoscopic balloon dilatation, surgical management is the basis for treatment of strictures in ulcerative colitis because malignant strictures are common and because the stricture region is generally wide. We report the case of a patient who presented with decreased stool caliber while undergoing treatment for ulcerative colitis. We performed therapeutic balloon dilatation in this patient with a benign stricture caused by ulcerative colitis and experienced improvement of symptoms. (Korean J Gastrointest Endosc 2008;37: 380-383)

• Keywords: Ulcerative colitis, Stricture, Balloon dilatation