Serial transverse enteroplasty for short bowel syndrome. Case report

Among patients with short bowel syndrome, surgical small intestine lengthening techniques are employed to increase the absorptive surface. Among these, serial transverse enteroplasty involves transecting the bowel transversally, preserving the blood supply of the small intestine and creating a longer segment of bowel. We report a 51-year-old woman with a short bowel syndrome and multiple hospital admissions for complications. She was subjected to a serial transverse enteroplasty, increasing small intestinal length from 140 to 180 cm. During the postoperative period, she presented intra abdominal blood collections and a septic episode with bacterial endocarditis. One month after the operation, total parenteral nutrition was discontinued and nutritional and fluid balances were achieved using exclusively the oral route. During the ambulatory follow up, the patient continues with exclusive oral feeding and five bowel movements per day.