Symptoms of ulcerative colitis—a type of inflammatory bowel disease—can become so severe and limiting, that a person may consider surgery to remove the colon.

Tarik Kirat, MD, a colorectal surgeon at NYU Langone’s Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center and clinical associate professor in the Department of Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, talks with HealthCentral about what is involved in the surgery and recovery, and what to expect at each stage of the operation. He reminds patients that the entire process takes about five months, and that “you won’t bounce back in a few days.”

Dr. Kirat knows the toll surgery can have on patients and says when meeting with your surgeon and care team, “remember you’re not on your own. Ask your surgeon anything that’s on your mind.”

Read more from HealthCentral.