How are intestinal strictures in IBD treated?
Intestinal strictures may be composed of a combination of scar tissue (fibrosis) and tissue that is inflamed and, therefore, swollen. A logical and sometimes effective treatment for these strictures, therefore, is medication to decrease the inflammation. Some medications for IBD, such as infliximab, however, may make some strictures worse. The reason is that these medications may actually promote the formation of scar tissue during the healing process. If the stricture is predominantly scar tissue and is only causing a mild narrowing, symptoms may be controlled simply by changes in the diet. For example, the patient should avoid high fiber foods, such as raw carrots, celery, beans, seeds, nuts, fiber, bran, and dried fruit. If the stricture is more severe and can be reached and examined with an endoscope, it may be treated by stretching (dilation) during the endoscopy. In this procedure, special instruments are used through the endoscope to stretch open the stricture. Typically, howeve
