ABSTRACT
Tremendous advancement in the medical and surgical care of patients with severe intestinal disorders has transformed many diagnoses that were once fatal diseases into chronic illnesses. Before parenteral nutrition (PN) became available for home use in the early 1970s, long-term survival for patients with signi—cant short bowel syndrome (SBS) was impossible. Currently, patients with the most dif—cult diagnoses such as extreme SBS and pseudo-obstruction can not only survive long-term, but also enjoy a good quality of life at home.1−5 For patients failing PN, intestinal transplantation offers the hope of life without PN. Whereas durable intestine graft function was unsuccessful in 1970s and 1980s,6 many transplant centers have now reported7,8 longterm graft survival rates and quality of life that compare favorably to that achieved for more traditional solid organ transplants.
