Surgical Management of Benign and Malignant Colorectal Disease in the Immunocompromised Patient

Abstract

Patients who are immunosuppressed either due to an underlying disease process or medications to treat a disease require important perioperative considerations. Preoperative evaluation mandates a higher index of suspicion for pathology given that peritoneal and systemic markers of illness may be masked. Intraoperatively, consideration should be given for diversion more frequently than in a nonimmunosuppressed patient. Postoperatively, patients should be managed in a multidisciplinary fashion. This review largely focuses on the immunosuppressive mediations used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, benign colorectal disease in an immunosuppressed patient, and colorectal malignancies in immunosuppressed patients to highlight important considerations for this patient population. This review contains 4 figures, 5 tables, and 78 references. Key words: anal squamous cell carcinoma, appendicitis versus typhlitis, biologic therapy, corticosteroids, human papillomavirus, immunosuppression, neutropenic enterocolitis