History of Intestinal Transplant
Bowel transplantation was first attempted in humans during the 1960s. At that time, patients were dying of starvation after having a large portion of their bowel removed because of disease or trauma. Parenteral (intravenous) feeding was not yet available, and surgeons hoped that the transplanted bowel would function normally. These first intestinal transplant patients died, however, from technical complications such as: rejection, or infection. Successful intestinal transplants were not performed until the mid-1980s when better immune suppressive drugs became available along with better methods to prevent infections. As a result of these improvements, today almost 1000 patients have been able to stop total parenteral nutrition (TPN), resume a normal diet, and enjoy a healthy lifestyle after intestinal transplantation.