Intestinal Disease

The primary function of the small intestine (bowel) is to absorb nutrients from the food we eat. In some people, the intestines fail to absorb enough to meet the body’s needs—we call this short bowel syndrome. This can be caused by both surgical causes (when a large piece of diseased bowel must be removed) and functional disorders (when the bowel is not able to move food properly or absorb it). While many people can be treated with intestinal rehabilitation, some patients fail all medical therapy and require transplant.

Small bowel (intestinal) transplant is the removal of healthy intestine from a deceased donor and placed into an adult or child who has irreversible small bowel disease. The purpose of this transplant is to restore proper intestinal function. Again, small bowel transplant is reserved for patients who have failed all other treatment options for their intestinal disorder. » More info