After failure of medical therapy, children with refractory inflammatory bowel disease may require surgical intervention. In this article the authors describe one child in whom, after traditional therapies for refractory ulcerative colitis failed, full remission of the disease occurred after the addition of 6-mercaptopurine and cyclosporine A to her medical regimen. 6-Mercaptopurine has been used with increasing frequency in refractory inflammatory bowel disease; the use of cyclosporine A for this condition is still under investigation.