Over an 11-year period, 17 salvage procedures were performed on a failed ileal pouch-anal anastomosis carried out for ulcerative colitis from a series of 157 patients. Ten pouches were saved, four excised and three defunctioned. Salvage procedures included five operations for fistulas (three of five successful), six reoperations on the ileoanal anastomosis (five of six successful), three new pouches after previous pouch excision (all failed), and three miscellaneous: excision of an efferent limb (successful), pouchpexy for a pouch prolapse (successful) and postanal repair for incontinence (failed). Pouch salvage may be successful in the motivated patient who wishes to avoid a permanent ileostomy.