• Crohn's disease
• endoscopy

We read with interest the article by Assche1 et al regarding the long-term outcomes of endoscopic dilatation in 133 patients with Crohn's disease exhibiting ileal, ileocolonic and anastomotic strictures, on a retrospective basis. They performed multistep dilatation utilising scope balloons starting from 15–16.5 cm and widening to 18 cm at the maximal diameter. They concluded that endoscopic balloon dilatation is an effective method with long-term relief of symptomatology in 54% of patients, without a need for repeat dilatation or surgery in 76% of patients after the first dilatation. They reported the occurrence of 12 (5.1%) serious adverse events in 237 dilatations. They underlined the fact that neither active inflammation at the site of stricture, high serum C-reactive protein levels nor …