Long-term outcome of laparoscopic and open surgery in patients with Crohn's disease Martin Hoffmann,1 Dina Siebrasse,1 Erik Schlöricke,2 Ralf Bouchard,1 Tobias Keck,1 Claudia Benecke1 1Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, 2Department of Surgery, Westküstenklinikum Heide, Heide, Germany Aim: To investigate, via data analysis, the long-term outcome of patients who underwent either laparoscopic or open surgery for Crohn’s disease.Methods: A total of 113 patients who had undergone first abdominal surgery due to Crohn’s disease between January 2000 and December 2010 in a maximum care provider facility, were included in the statistical analysis. All patients provided their informed consent prior to inclusion. Data were collected from a database. Follow-up data included data from central mortality registries, general practitioners and a specialized clinic. Statistical analysis of the general patient data and the different operations and approaches were performed with the use of chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and the Mann–Whitney U test.Results: The median follow-up period in case of open and laparoscopic surgery was found to be 9 and 6 years, respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed for the following parameters in case of open and laparoscopic surgery, respectively: age (median=44 vs. 36 years, range=15–76 vs. 15–72 years; p=0.007), urgency of operation (23 out of 34 planned vs. 6 out of 70 planned; p