Small bowel transplantation – the latest developments

The UK has played a pivotal role in the development of intestinal transplantation to a procedure that is routinely offered to patients with complex intestinal failure and other life-threatening conditions. In the international Intestinal Transplant Registry’s latest report, the overall survival figures were inferior to those expected for patients on parenteral nutrition (PN). However, in the better performing centres, survival figures for isolated intestinal transplantation are approaching those of PN, and good candidates for surgery might be offered the procedure as an alternative to PN if this trend continues.