Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Treatment | Baltimore | University of Maryland Medical Center

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) occurs when the body's immune cells attack the intestinal lining, causing inflammation and ulcerations. There are many different forms of the disease and each requires a comprehensive approach to managing it.

Our IBD team is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of IBD, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Our program is unique because patients can see a gastroenterologist, surgeon and nutritionist at the same appointment.

Because of the complexity of the disease, we take a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together a team of IBD specialists to accurately diagnose and manage IBD.

Our goal is that people with IBD shouldn't just be able to lead more normal lives with treatment, but that the right therapies should enable patients to live their lives normally.

Location and Scheduling

The UM Digestive Health Center, located on the eighth floor of University of Maryland Medical Center's Downtown Campus in Baltimore, includes an infusion center and access to nutritional counselors.

Please call 410-706-3387 to schedule an appointment with an IBD specialist.

Women and IBD

One focus of our program is on specialty care for women with IBD.

While women are as likely to develop the condition as men, fertility and childbearing concerns often factor into their treatment. Our many childbearing-age patients have questions about fertility, conceiving, intimacy and taking medications during pregnancy

Our IBD program offers resources to address these issues and works closely with UMMC's Maternal Fetal Medicine Department for high-risk patients.

We want to ensure suitable treatment and safety for our patients during pregnancy and at the time of delivery. Patients work together with a gastroenterologist, obstetrician and surgeon to determine the best choices regarding pregnancy.

IBD Surgery

Surgery for inflammatory bowel disease that removes the inflamed part of the intestine is an important part of IBD therapy. Although surgery usually relieves symptoms of Crohn's disease, it does not offer a cure. While with ulcerative colitis, it can cure it.

UMMC is widely recognized for making pioneering advances in minimally invasive surgery for IBD.

Crohn's Disease Surgery

Although one-third of patients who had Crohn's surgery require repeat operations, there have been many advances. One is the use of bowel-saving techniques to repair diseased segments instead of removing them.

Ulcerative Colitis Surgery

Ulcerative colitis, unlike Crohn's disease, is cured once the colon is removed, which is call an ostomy. Patients usually require an ileostomy (bag attached to the belly wall that collects fecal waste) after a colectomy.

Another surgical procedure, called a restorative proctocolectomy or J pouch, can be performed in many patients later to reverse the ostomy. This procedure allows patients to have bowel movements that pass stool through the anus.