Right-sided colitis

Abstract

The term `right-sided colitis' has been used to describe a lesion in which the right half of the colon shows maximal inflammatory changes; although the terminal ileum is always involved, the rectum is normal or shows minimal inflammatory changes. Some of these cases appear to be of atypical Crohn's disease, whilst the others resemble chronic ulcerative colitis. The high incidence of Jewish people in this series suggests a racial tendency towards this distribution of the inflammatory change. The right-sided nature of the lesion has led to unnecessarily prolonged medical treatment, to right hemicolectomy, and to ileorectal anastomosis. The results of such procedures have been disappointing, all the more so because the rectum was almost normal and hence would seem ideally suited for ileorectal anastomosis. These patients have progressed very well with ileostomy.