SMALL BOWEL TRANSPLANTATION

Small bowel transplantation has proved to be an exceptionally difficult undertaking because of the twin problem of rejection and graft-versus-host disease. Though still in its infancy, a number of successful clinical cases have now been performed in North America and Europe. Small Bowel Transplantation is the first comprehensive book to review the problem areas in this field. The initial chapters cover the background in terms of physiology, immunology, bacteriology and pathology. This is followed by discussions of preservation, immunosuppression and graft manipulation, the role of the liver, and the portal circulation in intestinal grafting. The concluding chapters review current clinical experience and the future prospects for this technique. Written by a team of leading international authorities, this state-of-the-art volume will be of interest to surgeons, gastroenterologists and immunologists worldwide.