Integrated intestinal capacity and nutritional status following small bowel transplantation

Successful small bowel transplantation requires normal functional capacity of the graft and unaltered metabolism of the host. Weight gain and wet weight of muscle groups and intra-abdominal fat pads were compared between transplanted, sham-operated, short bowel-operated, and normal rats that were fed either standard chow or fat-enriched (15%) pellets. Weight gain and wet weight of muscle groups and fat pads for the control, transplanted, and sham-operated rats were identical, while short bowel animals showed reduced weight. Transplanted rats receiving fat-enriched food had lower wet weight of fat pads than control animals on the high-fat diet. We conclude that small bowel transplantation makes it possible to overcome the intestinal failure associated with short bowel syndrome, leading to overall normal weight gain and development of the recipient. However, altered fat metabolism, reflected in changed body composition, was observed in transplanted animals on the high-fat diet.