Dr. Samhitha Reddy
Consultant Proctologist & Laparoscopic Surgeon
MBBS, MS, FMAS, FISCP, DMAS
- 8 Yrs
- ASCRS Member
Proctology · Crohn’s & Colitis
IBD Treatment in Hyderabad: Expert Care at Lux Hospitals
Inflammatory bowel disease covers two lifelong conditions, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, in which the immune system inflames the digestive tract. It is not the same as IBS, and the distinction is important: this is genuine inflammation that damages the bowel wall.
IBD is manageable, and managed well most people live entirely normal lives. Our specialists at Lux Hospitals, HITEC CITY provide long-term IBD care: accurate diagnosis, biologic and immunomodulator therapy, nutritional support and minimally invasive surgery where it is needed.
- Remission-Focused
- Multidisciplinary Team
- Long-Term Care
What is Inflammatory Bowel Disease?
Inflammatory bowel disease is a group of conditions in which the immune system causes chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. The two main forms are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and both run a course of flares and remissions over a lifetime.
Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the gut from mouth to anus, occurs in patches with healthy bowel in between, and involves the full thickness of the bowel wall, which is why it causes strictures, fistulas and abscesses. Ulcerative colitis is confined to the colon and rectum, spreads continuously upward from the rectum, and involves only the inner lining.
IBD is fundamentally different from irritable bowel syndrome. IBS is a disorder of gut function with a normal-looking bowel and no lasting damage; IBD is measurable inflammation that ulcerates tissue and, untreated, leads to complications. They are frequently confused, and a faecal calprotectin test separates them reliably.
What Causes Inflammatory Bowel Disease?
There is no single cause. IBD develops when a genetically susceptible person meets an environmental trigger and the immune response to the gut’s own bacteria fails to switch off.
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Immune system dysfunction
The immune system mounts a sustained attack on the gut lining, and inflammation that should resolve instead becomes chronic.
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Genetic factors
More than two hundred genetic loci are associated with IBD. A family history raises the risk considerably, though most patients have none.
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Gut microbiome imbalance
An altered balance of intestinal bacteria appears both to trigger inflammation and to keep it going once established.
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Previous infections
An episode of gastroenteritis can precipitate the first attack in someone already predisposed.
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Smoking
Markedly worsens Crohn’s disease and increases the need for surgery. Stopping is one of the most effective interventions available in Crohn’s.
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Diet and urbanisation
Incidence is rising fastest in urbanising populations, implicating diet and environment, though no single food causes the disease.
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NSAID use
Anti-inflammatory painkillers are a recognised trigger for flares and are generally best avoided in IBD.
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Psychological stress
Stress does not cause IBD, but it reliably triggers and worsens flares in people who already have it.
Nothing you ate or did caused this. What you can influence is the flare rate, and in Crohn’s disease, stopping smoking is the single biggest thing within your control.
Symptoms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Symptoms depend on which part of the gut is inflamed and how severely, but a persistent pattern lasting weeks is the common thread.
Digestive symptoms
- Chronic diarrhoea lasting more than four weeks
- Abdominal pain and cramping, often after eating
- Blood or mucus in the stool
- Urgency and a feeling of incomplete emptying
- Waking at night to open the bowels: rarely seen in IBS
Systemic & extra-intestinal
- Unintended weight loss and loss of appetite
- Persistent fatigue, often out of proportion to other symptoms
- Fever during a flare
- Anaemia from chronic blood loss or poor absorption
- Joint pain, eye inflammation, mouth ulcers or skin rashes
- In children, delayed growth and delayed puberty
Perianal symptoms (a fistula, an abscess or a deep fissure) alongside diarrhoea and weight loss point strongly to Crohn’s disease, and they change how the whole case is investigated.
How IBD is Diagnosed
Diagnosis rests on endoscopy with biopsy, supported by blood, stool and imaging tests. Distinguishing Crohn’s from ulcerative colitis matters, because the treatment paths diverge.
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Blood tests
Full blood count, inflammatory markers, albumin, iron studies, vitamin B12 and liver function: together they gauge activity, severity and nutritional impact.
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Faecal calprotectin
A stool marker of bowel inflammation that separates IBD from IBS reliably, and remains the most useful non-invasive way to monitor disease afterwards.
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Stool cultures
To exclude infective colitis, including C. difficile, which mimics a flare and needs entirely different treatment.
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Colonoscopy with biopsy
The definitive test. It shows the pattern and extent of inflammation, and biopsies confirm the diagnosis and distinguish Crohn’s from colitis.
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Upper endoscopy & capsule endoscopy
Used in suspected Crohn’s disease to assess the upper gut and small bowel, which a colonoscopy cannot reach.
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MRI enterography
Images the small bowel without radiation, showing strictures, fistulas and abscesses. Essential in Crohn’s and repeated over the years.
In perhaps one in ten patients the pattern does not clearly fit either condition at first. That is recognised, it is called IBD-unclassified, and it usually declares itself over time.
Treatment Options for IBD
Managing chronic IBD requires a long-term approach: a personalised treatment plan, regular monitoring, and adjustment as the disease changes. The aim is remission with a healed bowel lining, not simply the absence of symptoms.
Medical
Medication and supportive care
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Aminosalicylates (5-ASA)
First-line for mild to moderate ulcerative colitis and the backbone of maintenance there. Of limited value in Crohn’s disease.
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Corticosteroids
Prednisolone or budesonide to bring a flare under control quickly. Effective for induction but never for maintenance, because of their long-term effects.
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Immunosuppressants
Azathioprine, mercaptopurine or methotrexate to maintain remission and allow steroids to be withdrawn. They take two to three months to take effect.
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Biologic therapy
Anti-TNF agents, vedolizumab and ustekinumab target specific immune pathways and achieve mucosal healing where conventional treatment has not.
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Nutritional therapy
Exclusive enteral nutrition can induce remission in Crohn’s disease, particularly in children, without steroids. Correcting iron, B12 and vitamin D deficiency is routine.
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Lifestyle and stress management
Stopping smoking, protecting sleep, managing stress and staying active: supportive measures with genuine effect on flare frequency.
Surgical
Minimally invasive surgery
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Laparoscopic bowel resection
Removal of a diseased segment through keyhole incisions, for Crohn’s strictures or disease that has not responded to medication.
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Stricturoplasty
A narrowed segment is widened rather than removed, preserving bowel length: important in Crohn’s, where repeated resections risk short bowel syndrome.
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Abscess drainage & seton placement
For perianal Crohn’s disease, controlling sepsis and keeping fistula tracts draining while medical therapy takes effect.
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Total colectomy with pouch (IPAA)
For ulcerative colitis, removal of the colon with a pouch fashioned from small bowel: curative for colitis, and avoiding a permanent stoma.
Surgery is needed only where medication and lifestyle changes fail to control the disease, or where complications such as strictures, fistulas or severe bleeding develop. For ulcerative colitis it is curative; for Crohn’s it treats a segment, and medical therapy continues afterwards.
What Long-Term IBD Care Involves
IBD is managed as an ongoing programme rather than a single procedure. This is what continuing care under our team actually looks like.
Structured IBD care programme
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Diagnosis and staging
Endoscopy, biopsy and imaging to establish which condition you have, how extensive it is, and how severe: the basis of every decision that follows.
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Inducing remission
Steroids, nutritional therapy or biologics to bring the current flare under control, typically over four to eight weeks.
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Establishing maintenance therapy
Moving to a treatment you can stay on long term (5-ASA, an immunomodulator or a biologic) while steroids are tapered off on a planned schedule.
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Confirming mucosal healing
Calprotectin and repeat endoscopy to verify the lining has genuinely healed. Feeling well and being in remission are not always the same thing.
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Regular monitoring
Blood tests before each biologic dose, calprotectin every few months, and nutritional review, so a relapse is caught before symptoms return.
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Surveillance and life planning
Surveillance colonoscopy from eight years after diagnosis, bone density monitoring, vaccination, and planning around pregnancy or surgery.
The single most useful thing in this programme is continuity: the same team seeing the same patient over years, so a change in pattern is recognised as a change rather than assessed from scratch.
Why Choose Lux Hospitals for IBD Treatment in Hyderabad?
IBD is a long relationship with a team rather than a single episode of care. Here is why patients trust us:
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Expert team
Led by Dr. Samhitha Reddy, one of the top proctologists in Hyderabad, with a multidisciplinary team providing personalised care.
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Advanced diagnostics
Endoscopy, MRI enterography and calprotectin monitoring, so treatment is guided by measured inflammation rather than symptoms alone.
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Comprehensive care
From the first consultation through to post-treatment follow-up, with one team throughout.
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Convenient location
Our hospital is in HITEC CITY, near IKEA: easily reachable from across Hyderabad.
Living With IBD
IBD is managed rather than recovered from. The timeline below is how control is typically established and then held.
- Weeks 1–2
Diagnosis confirmed and induction treatment started. Symptoms usually begin improving within the first week or two.
- Weeks 2–8
The flare comes under control. Steroids taper on a planned schedule and maintenance therapy is established.
- Months 2–3
Immunomodulators reach full effect. Calprotectin is rechecked to confirm inflammation is genuinely settling.
- Months 6–12
Endoscopy to confirm mucosal healing: the target that predicts long-term outcome better than symptoms do.
- Long term
Maintenance continues indefinitely, with regular monitoring, surveillance colonoscopy, and adjustment as life circumstances change.
Aftercare
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Stay on maintenance therapy
The commonest avoidable cause of a flare is stopping treatment once things feel settled. It is the treatment keeping you settled.
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Stop smoking
In Crohn’s disease this is the single most effective thing within your control. It reduces flares, hospital admissions and the need for surgery.
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Keep up your monitoring
Blood tests and calprotectin detect inflammation returning before you feel it, when it is far easier to treat.
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Look after nutrition
Iron, B12, vitamin D and calcium are commonly low in IBD. They are checked and corrected as part of routine care.
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Avoid NSAIDs
Ibuprofen and diclofenac trigger flares. Use paracetamol instead, and tell any doctor treating you that you have IBD.
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Surveillance colonoscopy
Long-standing colonic disease raises bowel cancer risk. Surveillance from eight years after diagnosis is what manages it.
With proper treatment and supervision, people with IBD work, travel, exercise and have families. The disease is serious, and it is also (with modern therapy) genuinely well controlled in most patients.
When Should You Seek Urgent Care?
Any of the following needs same-day medical assessment.
- More than six bloody stools a day.
- Fever, a racing pulse or feeling severely unwell during a flare.
- Severe abdominal pain with a distended abdomen.
- Persistent vomiting, or being unable to keep fluids down.
- A new perianal abscess: a hot, tender swelling beside the anus.
Cost of IBD Treatment in Hyderabad
IBD is a long-term condition, so the meaningful figure is an ongoing one. These are the ranges our patients fall into.
| Procedure | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Specialist consultation Per visit | ₹800 – ₹1,500 |
| Colonoscopy with biopsy Day care, including histopathology | ₹15,000 – ₹30,000 |
| MRI enterography For small bowel assessment in Crohn’s | ₹12,000 – ₹22,000 |
| 5-ASA or immunomodulator therapy Per month, including monitoring bloods | ₹1,500 – ₹6,000 |
| Biologic therapy Per dose; frequency varies by agent | ₹25,000 – ₹80,000 |
| Laparoscopic bowel resection Four to seven nights’ stay | ₹2,00,000 – ₹4,00,000 |
What changes the estimate
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Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis
Crohn’s needs small bowel imaging repeated over the years; colitis is followed largely by colonoscopy. The monitoring costs differ.
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Which drug class you need
The step from conventional therapy to a biologic is the largest single change in ongoing cost, and is driven by how the disease responds.
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Frequency of flares
Well-controlled disease means routine reviews. Frequent flares mean admissions, imaging and treatment escalation.
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Room category
A shared ward, a twin-sharing room or a private suite: the largest single swing in most estimates.
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Insurance & TPA cover
We are empanelled with most major insurers, and our team files the pre-authorisation for you.
Every figure above is an indicative range, not a quote. After your consultation you are given a written, fixed-cost estimate, and that is the number you pay, with no additions once treatment begins.
Other Proctology Treatments
Our Surgeons
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Specialists at Lux Hospitals
The proctologists and IBD specialists who manage Crohn’s disease and colitis at our HITEC CITY hospital.
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Dr. Samhitha Reddy
Consultant Proctologist & Laparoscopic Surgeon
MBBS, MS, FMAS, FISCP, DMAS
8 years experience
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Dr. Abhishek Katha
Consultant General & Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeon
MBBS, MS, FMAS
17 years experience
Testimonials
What Patients Say About Their Treatment
Reviews from patients treated for IBD, colitis and colorectal conditions at Lux Hospitals, Hyderabad.
From the Blog
Latest Health Articles by Lux
Written by Dr. Samhitha Reddy on IBD, IBS and digestive health.
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Got Questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about inflammatory bowel disease, its treatment, and what long-term care costs at Lux Hospitals.
What is the best treatment for IBD in Hyderabad?
It depends on the type and severity. Treatment typically combines medication (anti-inflammatories, immunosuppressants and biologics) with dietary and lifestyle changes, and in severe cases surgery to remove damaged bowel. A personalised plan from a specialist, reviewed as the disease changes, gives the best outcomes.
What causes inflammation of the bowel?
Bowel inflammation in IBD results from immune system dysfunction in a genetically susceptible person, influenced by gut microbiome imbalance, previous infections, smoking, diet and stress. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two main conditions involved.
What is the difference between IBD and IBS?
IBD is genuine inflammation that ulcerates and damages the bowel wall and can cause complications. IBS is a disorder of gut function with a normal-looking bowel, no inflammation and no lasting damage. They are often confused, and a faecal calprotectin stool test distinguishes them reliably.
Can people with IBD live a normal life?
Yes. With proper treatment, lifestyle modification and regular medical supervision, most people with IBD manage their symptoms well and lead full, normal lives: working, travelling, exercising and having children.
Does inflammatory bowel disease need surgery?
Not always, and not usually. Surgery is needed in severe cases where medication and lifestyle changes fail to control symptoms, or where complications such as strictures, fistulas or severe bleeding develop. For ulcerative colitis, removing the colon is curative; in Crohn’s, surgery treats a segment and medical therapy continues.
What are the early signs of IBD?
Early signs include persistent diarrhoea lasting more than four weeks, abdominal pain, blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss and fatigue. Waking at night to open the bowels is particularly suggestive. If you have these, see a specialist for evaluation.
Can diet help manage IBD symptoms?
Yes, though diet supports treatment rather than replacing it. Identifying and avoiding your trigger foods, staying hydrated and correcting nutritional deficiencies all help. During a flare a low-residue diet is easier on an inflamed bowel; in remission most people need no restriction.
Can stress worsen IBD symptoms?
Yes. Stress does not cause IBD, but it is a consistent trigger for flares in people who have it. Meditation, regular exercise, protected sleep and psychological support all help, and are worth treating as part of the plan rather than as general advice.
What is the cost of IBD treatment at Lux Hospitals?
Cost varies with the condition, the tests required and the treatment plan. Consultations are ₹800–₹1,500, diagnostic colonoscopy ₹15,000–₹30,000, conventional maintenance therapy ₹1,500–₹6,000 a month, and biologics ₹25,000–₹80,000 per dose. We share a clear plan with costs upfront.
How can I book an appointment for IBD treatment at Lux Hospitals?
You can book an appointment by calling us, messaging us on WhatsApp, or walking into Lux Hospitals, HITEC CITY.
Still have questions? Call us at 079 6908 4422
Still have questions? Message us on WhatsApp at 079 6908 4444
Book Your IBD Consultation in Hyderabad
Accurate diagnosis and long-term IBD care from one team, with costs discussed openly before treatment begins.
Plot No.116, Lumbini Avenue, HITEC CITY, Near IKEA, Hyderabad – 500032