Duke offers comprehensive evaluation and care for patients who need small bowel transplants. We offer isolated small bowel transplants and multi-organ transplants that include the small bowel, liver, and kidney.

Small bowel transplants and multi-visceral transplants are available for adult and pediatric patients with short bowel syndrome and short bowel syndrome complicated by simultaneous liver failure or chronic total parenteral nutrition (TPN).

These transplants are still considered investigational because of the complexity of the surgery and the fact that so few centers in the country perform them. Duke’s small bowel transplant program, established in 2009, is the only such program in the Carolinas, and is one of only 21 active programs in the country.

Duke’s small bowel transplant team of physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, dietitians, and medical psychologists will help determine if a small bowel transplant is the right treatment for you. If and when you become a transplant patient, this same group of professionals will take care of you.

Surgery

Surgery can take anywhere from six to eight hours depending on whether the surgery is a small bowel transplant alone or whether it involves the liver, kidney, or pancreas.

You can expect to be discharged from the hospital within one to two weeks after your operation, but you will need to remain in Durham for at least another six weeks for frequent follow-up visits.

Remember that each person is different, and your recovery depends on the specific way your body heals or the development of complications.

Transplant Coordinators

• Julie Hudson, RN, MSN
• David Cousino, RN, BSN (Pediatrics)

Transplant Social Worker

• Karli Pontillo, MSW, LCSW

Physicians

Physicians offering this service include:

• Brady, Carla W.
  • Medicine / Medicine - Gastroenterology
• Martin, Abigail E.
  • Surgery / Abdominal Transplant
  • Pediatrics / Pediatrics-Chairman Office
• Ravindra, Kadiyala V.
  • Surgery / Abdominal Transplant
• Sudan, Debra L.
  • Surgery / Abdominal Transplant
  • Pediatrics / Pediatrics-Chairman Office

Locations

This service is available at:

• General and Thoracic Surgery, Transplant
  Duke Clinic 2B/2C, 200 Trent Drive, Durham, NC 27710