Clinical Trials

Inclusion Criteria:

• Isolated ileocolic Crohn's disease without evidence of perforation.
• Concurrent therapies with corticosteroids, 5-ASA drugs, thiopurines, MTX, antibiotics, and anti-TNF therapy are permitted.
• All patients should have undergone a colonoscopy and CT or MR enterography within the last 2 weeks to assess severity of disease.
• Ability to comply with protocol.
• Competent and able to provide written informed consent.
• Medically refractory disease or inability to tolerate ongoing medical therapy.

Exclusion Criteria: 

• Inability to give informed consent.
• Patients less than 18 years of age and older than 65.
• Patients undergoing repeat ileocolic resection.
• Patients with concurrent disease in other locations (e.g. proximal stricturing of the small bowel, fistulizing disease to the sigmoid colon) requiring additional operation intervention beyond an ileocolic resection.
• Clinically significant medical conditions within the six months before surgery: e.g. myocardial infarction, active angina, congestive heart failure or other conditions that would, in the opinion of the investigators, compromise the safety of the patient.
• Patients who are undergoing an ileal resection only (NOT ileocecal) because the disease spares the distal most aspect of ileum and ileocecal valve.
• Patients with > 30 cm of terminal ileal disease.
• Patients with evidence of hepatitis B, C, or HIV.
• History of cancer including melanoma (with the exception of localized skin cancers).
• Emergent indication for an operation.
• Pregnant or breast feeding.
• History of clinically significant auto-immunity (other than Crohn’s disease) or any previous example of fat-directed autoimmunity.
• Inability to follow up at Mayo Clinic Rochester between 3-4 months and at 12 months for post-operative imaging and colonoscopy.