Diplomate, American Board of Surgery
Diplomate, American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery
Fellow, American College of Surgeons
Fellow, American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
Honorary Fellow, Philippine Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
Honorary Member, Surgical Section Serbian Medical Association
Dr. Maher Abbas is an American Board Certified Colon and Rectal Surgeon who performs the latest and most advanced procedures to treat conditions affecting the small intestine, colon, rectum, and anus. He is a leader in minimally invasive and endoscopic surgery. With over 18,000 operations and procedures experience, he provides state of the art treatment to his patients.
Inflammatory bowel disease consists of 2 conditions, Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Both conditions cause gut inflammation. Crohn’s disease can affect the entire gut from mouth to anus while ulcerative colitis is confined to the large bowel (colon and rectum) [Figure 1]. A variety of symptoms are seen in patients with inflammatory bowel disease including abdominal pain, distention, vomiting, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, anal infections, and abdominal abscesses.
Figure 1 – The human gut
Medications are the first line of treatment for the majority of patients. The goal of therapy is to reduce the inflammation and relieve the symptoms. Most patients require long-term treatment. Surgery plays a very important role in patients who continue to have symptoms despite medical treatment. The role of surgery is to remove the portion of the gut that is inflamed in order to relieve blockage or bleeding, to drain and control infection, and/or to get rid of areas of the bowel that have cancerous or precancerous growth as a result of the inflammatory bowel disease.
Surgery for inflammatory bowel disease is determined by which segment of the gut is involved and the types of symptoms. In general, the patients who have disease involving the small intestine and colon require abdominal surgery to remove the diseased part. In some cases, an Ileostomy or Colostomy bag is necessary. For patients who have Crohn’s disease involving the anus or buttocks area, a proctologic operation is required locally to drain an Anal Abscess or control the symptoms of an active Anal Fistula.
When an abdominal operation is required, Dr. Maher Abbas preferred method is minimally invasive surgery (Laparoscopic Camera Surgery or keyhole surgery). Furthermore, he tries to avoid an ileostomy or colostomy bag for the majority of his patients.
Minimally invasive procedures yield many benefits including less pain, smaller wounds with less scaring, shorter hospital stay, faster recovery, and earlier return to work. Other long-term advantages are less risk of developing bowel blockage from intestinal scars (adhesions) and fewer abdominal hernias.
Inflammatory bowel disease is complex. It requires extensive surgical expertise and collaboration between the surgeon and the medical gastroenterologist. A combination of excellent clinical judgment, thoughtful decision making, and technical skills are needed to obtain the best outcome for the patient. Determining whether a patient can benefit from an operation and when to perform it are of paramount importance for success. Furthermore, the technical conduct of an operation when needed is critical. Colon and rectal surgery is the surgical specialty that is best trained to provide the best surgical care for the patient.
Dr. Maher Abbas is an expert in the treatment of diseases of the colon, rectum, and anus. With over a 30-year career in the USA, he has completed advanced training in Proctology and is American Board Certified in Colon and Rectal Surgery. Dr. Maher Abbas is a Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. In addition, Dr. Maher Abbas spent 10 years of his professional career at the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic, which are the two largest and leading inflammatory bowel disease programs in the world.
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