Intestinal and multivisceral transplantation.

ABSTRACT

Intestinal transplantation for treatment of irreversible intestinal failure is the newest of the transplantation operations to be developed for clinical use. Because the bowel is more vulnerable to rejection than heart, lung, kidney, liver, or pancreas, practical clinical intestinal transplantation has been relatively slow to develop and is still in its infancy. Imaging studies play an important role in the initial evaluation of the residual native gastrointestinal tract for patients who are potential candidates for enteric implant. After transplantation, gastrointestinal contrast studies help monitor the recovery of gastrointestinal function and permit early detection of postoperative technical complications. CT, ultrasound, and angiography are useful for diagnosis and in some cases treatment of a variety of posttransplantation complications.