- The exact cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown, but it is believed to involve a combination of genetic, environmental, and immune system factors. Family history of the condition can increase the risk of developing Crohn’s disease.
- Symptoms of Crohn’s disease can vary but often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, and inflammation of the digestive tract. It can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, leading to a range of symptoms.
- Treatment aims to reduce inflammation, alleviate symptoms, and achieve and maintain remission. Medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressants, and biologics may be prescribed to manage the condition. In severe cases, surgery to remove damaged portions of the digestive tract may be necessary.
- Lifestyle changes, including dietary adjustments, stress management, and smoking cessation, may complement medical treatments. Regular monitoring and follow-up with healthcare providers are essential for long-term management.
Introduction
Imagine that your digestive system is a peaceful place protected by guards. The guards here is your immune system and they keep a close watch on who is entering the safe place. Its duty is to attack invaders like bad food. But there will be a total mess when the guard himself gets confused and starts attacking each and every food and good bacteria by mistake. This condition is called Crohn’s disease. Certain specific foods, smoking, or general infection may trigger the condition, and you might get into a worse situation where the walls surrounding the digestive tract are destroyed. Hence, getting timely diagnosis and treatment is crucial to manage the condition to improve the quality of your life.
Understanding Crohn’s Disease
Crohn’s disease comes under the category of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which causes severe inflammation in the digestive tract, affecting most of the parts in the gastrointestinal system but mainly damaging the small intestine and colon. It is also called regional enteritis, and it’s a lifelong condition which doesn’t have a permanent cure. Instead, timely diagnosis and treatment can help you manage the symptoms to a great extent. Patients having this condition can manage flare-ups and serious complications under proper guidance and treatment.
If you are seeking help for Crohn’s disease in Chennai, getting an expert gastroenterologist and proper treatment is crucial to put you at ease with a long-term quality of life.
Causes and Risk Factors of Crohn’s Disease
Several researches have been made on this topic, as it is important to know the causes of the condition so that people can avoid getting into it. But unfortunately a specific cause has not been found yet. However, the research has shown a combination of causes, like genetics, dysfunction of your immune system and even environmental triggers, to cause the condition in an individual. Many other factors might contribute to these major combination causes too. Let us get into the details.
Genetic & Family History
Genetic factors are known to be a significant cause of Crohn’s disease, where people who have family members with IBD are at high risk of getting this condition. Hereditary links are also a common cause.
Immune System Dysfunction
When your immune system itself is confused about what to attack and what not to, the body gets into a state of illness. Here in Crohn’s disease, the confused immune system keeps attacking every food and good bacteria inside the digestive tract, causing it to damage the intestines completely. This leads to inflammation, pain, diarrhoea, and many other serious conditions.
Environmental Triggers
When a person gets exposed to pollution, eats processed foods, etc., it could cause Crohn’s disease and these triggers keep worsening the condition causing more inflammation and susceptibility.
Lifestyle and External Risks
Some lifestyle choices can cause Crohn’s disease or increase the symptoms, like flare-ups. If you have a high-stress life, it may cause infections and cause a problem for the good bacteria in your gut, provoking the immune system, which keeps continuing its job of attacking. Smoking is another external trigger to develop or raise the levels of the disease even more. If you are using any anti-inflammatory drugs frequently, like the NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), like aspirin or ibuprofen, it can cause irritation in the digestive tract and result in inflammation.
Signs & Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease
The symptoms of Crohn’s disease develop slowly, and they might vary in different individuals. You need to understand any early signs and how it can develop into the condition, which will help you seek timely diagnosis and treatment.
Early Symptoms
The early indications and most common difficulties are slow but progressive abdominal pain, frequent diarrhoea, cramping, continuous fatigue and unusual loss in weight. Some people might get occasional fevers. These warning signs that your body gives are often overlooked as only normal digestive issues just because you had an improper food or untimely meal. This is why getting help from an IBD specialist or a gastroenterologist as early as possible is crucial to diagnose the exact problem.
Advanced Symptoms
Severe symptoms start showing up if the condition is getting into a progressive mode, which will include gastrointestinal bleeding resulting in severe anaemia, joint pain, painful ulcers inside the mouth, and skin rashes in some cases. This shows the inflammation might’ve gotten worse, and mandatory medical attention is required, as it requires intensive treatment.
Complications if Left Untreated
If you still keep thinking it is some kind of food poisoning or self-medicate, without getting a proper diagnosis or treatment for Crohn’s disease, very serious health complications may arise. The health risks include intestinal strictures, fistulae, bowel obstruction and malnutrition. After a while, you may also get risks of colon cancer. Hence, early detection and treatment are essential to avoid these life-threatening results.
Crohn’s Disease vs. Ulcerative Colitis – Key Differences
There are different types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis also fall under the same category. Both may have some similar symptoms in the start, but they differ in many areas, which is explained below.
| Feature | Location | Depth of Inflammation | Symptoms | Smoking Risk |
| Crohn’s Disease | Occurs in any part of the GI tract but most commonly in the small intestine and colon. | Affects all layers of the intestinal wall. | Diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss, mouth ulcers. | Increases risk and severity of the disease. |
| Ulcerative Colitis | Limited to the colon and rectum. | Affects the innermost lining of the colon. | Bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, urgency, rectal bleeding. | Smoking might not affect that much. |
When you have a clear understanding about these two conditions, it can help you choose the most appropriate steps, with the help of your doctor, to manage the same.
Diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease in Chennai
Doctors in Chennai use a combination of methods to diagnose Crohn’s disease in an individual. This includes laboratory tests, clinical assessment, endoscopy, and imaging procedures.
Clinical Evaluation
A detailed physical assessment, and medical history help diagnose the condition effectively. The family history also helps to identify any genetic predisposition.
Laboratory Tests
Detection of anaemia, low protein levels, high counts of WBC, and inflammation factors through blood tests helps doctors confirm the condition. Sometimes patients’ stools might also be tested to find out if there are infection-causing parasites, blood, etc., to confirm intestinal inflammation.
Imaging Studies
Imaging techniques like CT scans and CT enterography help visualise intestines and confirm any inflammation in them. MRI scans are also done to diagnose fistular and perianal diseases. Another method known as barium X-rays helps detect strictures in the intestine.
Endoscopy & Specialised Tests
Endoscopy is inserting a thin tube with a camera into the intestines and colon to allow direct visualisation of the colon and small intestine and is done normally with colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy. Another kind of endoscopy is capsule endoscopy, where the small intestine lesions are assessed, and balloon-assisted endoscopy is for more severe cases for a comprehensive evaluation.
All these advanced tools ensure patients a precise detection of Crohn’s disease to help patients choose an effective treatment strategy.
Crohn’s Disease Treatment in Chennai
Crohn’s disease in Chennai is managed through a blend of several treatments, such as medical treatments and lifestyle choices. Sometimes the patient might need surgical interventions. Each patient’s condition is different on the basis of severity, location and how well they respond to the treatment.
Medical Management
For any medical treatment, the first help is taken through appropriate medications. Certain anti-inflammatory drugs like corticosteroids and 5-ASA compounds are used to reduce inflammation in the intestine. If your body’s immune system is overactive, then it is controlled by immunosuppressants like azathioprine and methotrexate. Again, to target specific immune pathways, doctors use advanced biologics like infliximab, vedolizumab and ustekinumab which control the condition in a better way. There are other remedies, like using antibiotics to control secondary infections
Nutritional and Lifestyle Management
For managing most of these kinds of conditions, always keep the stress levels reduced, as the immune system is already attacking every danger in the body in this condition. An increase in stress levels directly affects your gut, and so do the immune responses. Regular exercise and avoiding smoking, etc. might bring down the severity of Crohn’s disease. The next one is your eating habits, where you can get customised plans from the medical professional to prevent flare-ups and to maintain well-balanced nutrition. Sometimes nutritional supplements are also recommended if you have nutritional deficiencies.
Surgical Management (When Medicines Fail)
Surgery is the last resort for the condition if all the other medical remedies fail, especially for fistulae, perforations, recurrent intestinal strictures, and bowel obstructions. The surgical procedures include strictureplasty, fistula repair, bowel resection, etc. If you are seeking advanced facilities for surgical management of Crohn’s disease, then laparoscopic and robotic Crohn’s surgery in Chennai would be the perfect choice. This is available at the MGM Malar Healthcare Centre, where you get faster recovery and perfect outcomes, which can keep you at peace.
Long-Term Management and Living with Crohn’s Disease
As mentioned earlier, Crohn’s disease doesn’t have a permanent cure, but it can be managed very effectively to achieve long-term remission phases, and patients can lead happier and fuller lives. Crohn’s remission management needs follow-up visits and regular supervision, and the medicines need to be reviewed on a timely basis.
Preventing Flare-Ups with Lifestyle and Diet
Crohn’s disease can be managed with simple lifestyle changes along with proper food habits. You must take guidance from the gastroenterologist and a dietician for getting a customised diet plan to prevent flare-ups. Along with that, your lifestyle choices should include proper exercise habits every day, stress reduction, and avoiding smoking.
Psychological Support and Counseling
It is tough when you realise you cannot eat what you love when you have Crohn’s disease, and this could impact your emotional well-being. With proper counseling, stress management methods, and psychological support groups, you will be able to accept your condition without inducing stress in your body. This helps you restore your emotional well-being.
Role of Patient Education and Support Groups
Education is the most unavoidable factor when it comes to anything. Getting yourself educated about your health condition can empower you to take ownership of your condition. There are local IBD support groups in Chennai who help patients share their experiences and coping strategies for effective long-term management of Crohn’s disease.
Why Choose Dr. Patta Radhakrishna for Crohn’s Disease Treatment in Chennai?
Dr. Patta Radhakrishna is the Director & Senior Consultant in Surgical Gastroenterology at MGM Malar, Adyar, Chennai. With over 30 years of experience in this field and has done thousands of minimally invasive procedures successfully with 100% patient satisfaction. He is one of the most trusted names when it comes to advanced treatment for Crohn’s disease in Chennai.
He is the pioneer of day-care laparoscopic surgery in Chennai and with his multidisciplinary approach, he ensures a comprehensive remedy for each patient’s unique condition. He is a well-experienced professional in managing complex IBD surgeries, like fistula repair, stricture correction, and bowel resection. He is also popular for his compassionate support, with long-lasting results at MGM Malar Hospitals. If you or someone you know is seeking an experienced surgical gastroenterologist in Chennai, Dr. Patta Radhakrishna is the ultimate name to choose.
Patient Success Stories & Testimonials
At MGM Malar, we are happy to let you know that our patients who had Crohn’s disease have got into a better quality of life with lasting relief with an expert and compassionate care given by us. Timely diagnosis and treatment play a huge role in achieving successful management of the disease. Here are some of the Crohn’s success stories in Chennai by our patients that show a true reflection of our care and results.
- I got affected by a persistent discomfort. 4 years back and after many hospital visits, I approached MGM Malar, where I met Dr. Patta Radhakrishna sir for help. He explained my condition in detail and did surgery effectively for my condition. He helped me recover with confidence. Within only a few weeks, I was back on my feet and enjoying an active life. Kumar 32, Chennai
- I hail from another city and had to come to Chennai for my work. As I had IBD already, shifting to a new place made it more challenging when it came to sticking to a proper diet. After a lot of triggers causing discomfort, I went to MGM, Malar, where I was given a treatment plan by Dr. Patta Radhakrishna, who combined medicines with a diet plan. Trust me, the difference was awesome. I could regain the control of my life with high energy levels. Madura, 28, IT Professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Crohn’s disease curable?
No, Crohn’s disease doesn’t have a permanent cure, but with timely proper treatment it can be managed for a long-term remission.
What is the cost of Crohn’s disease surgery in Chennai?
The surgery cost for Crohn’s disease varies depending on the complexity and facilities available at the hospital where you are getting treated.
When should a surgery be considered for Crohn’s disease?
When there are complications associated with the condition like fistulas, strictures or failed medication, surgeries are advised.
Can diet help in controlling Crohn’s flare-ups?
Yes, of course, dieting styles can significantly impact Crohn’s disease, and if managed properly you can reduce the triggers and also support gut health.
Which Hospital in Chennai is best for Crohn’s disease treatment?
MGM Malar, Adyar is one of the trusted and popular hospitals for advanced Crohn’s care and surgery in Chennai.