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Between 1960 and 1988, 83 patients (38 men, 43 women) underwent colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis (IRA) for severe colonic or rectal Crohn's disease. The mean age at IRA was 28.5 years. The mean interval from diagnosis was 4 years. There were two post-operative deaths. Among the 81 survivors 5 patients who had a covering ileostomy have never had their stomas closed and 24 patients required exclusion or excision of their IRA and rectum. (= 10 defunctioning IRA, 14 proctectomies with definitive ileostomy). The mean interval between IRA and the creation of a permanent ileostomy was 4.1 years. The mean interval between the onset of problems following IRA and permanent ileostomy was 2 years. 25 patients had perianal lesions prior to IRA. 5 of these patients had unhealed perianal disease at IRA and 7 required defunctioning ileostomy (28%). The need for rectal excision or exclusion following IRA was not related to the presence of perianal disease prior to IRA but functional results were worse. 33 patients developed perianal lesions following their IRA, among whom 19 required exclusion or excision of the rectum. Failure of IRA was then significantly higher amongst those who developed lesions following IRA. Rectal preservation after IRA may be proposed with success to patients with a healthy rectum or with minimal or moderate proctitis, even if there is perianal disease that could be safely treated before IRA. In this last setting the patient has to be informed of the risk of rectal preservation and the possible risk of requiring ulterior protectomy.

The heavy toll of necrotizing acute pancreatitis led the authors to start developing a new method of treatment in experimental and clinical conditions in 1979. This was aimed on one hand at creating a large channel for the centrifugal drainage of pancreatic or peri-pancreatic foci, and on the other hand at maintaining this draining channel during the first 5 weeks of acute evolution of the acute necrotizing pancreatitis in order to allow the permanent evacuation of purulent or necrotic fragments. From 1979 to 1989, 106 patients were treated with this method, ie. 71 men and 35 women with an average age of 47.9 years. 73 (74%) of these patients had been referred by other hospitals, and 64 only had been initially operated at Saint-Antoine hospital. All patients presented with extensive peripancreatic necrosis. The average Ranson score was 4.8 (not taking the fluid sequestration during the first few hours into account). Visceral failure was observed in 76% of the patients before surgery. The necrosis of the pancreatic gland was focal in 6 cases, extensive in 47 cases and total or subtotal in 25 cases. Out of the 70 CT studies, 64 showed a Ranson grade of E. All patients received enteral feeding on a jejunal site postoperatively. The mortality rate was 16%. The stay of the surviving patients in the intensive care unit averaged 50 days. 29 patients (27%) were reoperated on for complications or insufficient drainage.