SMALL BOWEL TRANSPLANTATION: INDICATIONS AND RESULTS

Abstract

Small bowel transplantation has become a life-saving procedure for selected patients with intestinal failure suffering complications of TPN and patients who require abdominal evisceration to completely remove locally aggressive tumor, The complex clinical and immunologic course of these patients is reflected in a higher complication rate as well as patient and graft loss than seen after heart, liver, and kidney transplantation. However, the 5 year survival rate of intestinal transplantation with large series is comparable to lung transplantation,