Medical therapies for inflammatory bowel diseases continue to evolve, but surgical interventions maintain a significant role, particularly in ulcerative colitis (UC). The clinical course of UC exhibits a highly variable spectrum of severity among patients. Approximately 50% of patients with chronic disease will relapse each year, and up to 90% of these patients will experience at least 1 relapse in 25 years.^1-3 Even with optimal medical management, approximately one-third of patients with UC requiring hospitalization for their disease will ultimately undergo surgery.^1,4 Most of these patients experience either insufficient responses to medical therapy or intolerable adverse effects from medications.⁵