Abstract

JULIAO BANOS, Fabián et al. Small bowel transplant: "a reality in Colombia". Rev Col Gastroenterol [online]. 2008, vol.23, n.2, pp.166-178. ISSN 0120-9957.

In 2005, with previous training of the medical team in Pittsburgh (USA) and thanks to our hospital’s support, we decided to establish an Intestinal Rehabilitation and Small Bowel Transplant program at Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital in Medellin (Colombia), where people from many places of the country come with nutritional deficiencies. These patients, with the support of nutritional group, receive home enteral and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) with collaboration of their health insurance services. Some of these patients have intestinal failure or difficulties with central vascular access for their TPN, and in some cases our program offers the possibility of small bowel transplantation. The Small Bowel Transplant group of Pablo Tobón Uribe Hospital is integrated by multidisciplinary professionals (Transplant surgeons, gastroenterologist, anesthesiologist, pathologist, nutritionists, social work services, psychologist, intensive care physicians and nurses). Since February 2006 we have performed intestinal transplant in four adult patients, with excellent outcome, achieving nutritional independence and great quality of life. These results have been acquired thanks to early consultation and remission from our colleagues from different cities of Colombia. In the past, these patients frequently died secondary to severe malnutrition and infectious diseases. We hope in a near future to have the possibility of new cases in order to continue working with our main objective of offering an alternative to the management of these patients.

Keywords : Small Bowel transplantation; Intestinal failure; Short bowel syndrome; immunosuppression; allograft acute rejection; Intestinal rehabilitation; total parenteral nutrition.

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