Intestinal rehabilitation
About short bowel syndrome
Short bowel syndrome is a rare condition caused by the loss of a functioning small intestine—the part of the body that absorbs most of the sugars, proteins and fats from the food we eat. When a child doesn’t have enough small intestine, the body can't extract the nutrients it needs to grow and thrive, which can lead to dehydration and malnutrition.
Our approach to treatment
Our intestinal rehabilitation program is a multidisciplinary group that meets biweekly to discuss pediatric patients who have short bowel syndrome. The patients we manage range from newborn babies that have required removal of a large percentage of their intestines to older children that are being managed in the outpatient setting. Our group collaborates to determine the most appropriate surgical and nonsurgical approaches to treat these babies/children and ensure they keep growing appropriately.
The dedicated team includes:
- Pediatric surgeons
- Pediatric gastroenterologists
- Neonatologists
- Social workers
- Case managers
- Nutritionists
Our main focus is to avoid further surgical intervention when possible. This may include adding medications, adjusting the mode of feeding and changing the type of formula/parenteral nutrition in order to save the liver and avoid infection. When indicated, our surgeons are able to reverse narrowings and perform bowel lengthening procedures, including the serial transverse enteroplasty (STEP) and the Bianchi procedure. We have a convenient outpatient clinic that allows us to routinely follow up with these patients and seamlessly meet their long-term needs.