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An eight-month-old boy from Northern New York successfully received five transplanted organs as part of a single procedure at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian—the first procedure of its kind performed at the Hospital. A liver, small bowel, pancreas, colon and stomach were transplanted in the seven-hour operation, called multi-visceral transplantation—a complex procedure that is rarely performed and requires superb medical and surgical co-ordination. The boy's recovery has been successful, and he is expected to return home soon.

The patient was born with Total Intestinal Atresia, a rare malformation of the entire gastrointestinal tract that makes nutrition possible only by artificial means. The only "cure" for the disease is transplantation.

The procedure involved a single donor, and the transplanted organs were kept together as a single unit with connections intact. A plastic mesh covering was initially used to protect the patient's abdominal cavity; due to swelling, the abdomen was not fully closed for several weeks.

"By transplanting several organs at once, we can give children with serious intestinal malformations or infections hope for healthy future," says Dr. Dominique Jan, transplantation surgeon at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian and professor of clinical surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Jan was recruited to Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center from Paris in 2004. He is an international leader in intestinal failure and performed the world's first successful intestinal transplant nearly 20 years ago.

The Intestinal Failure Program at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital has managed nearly 100 patients with devastating intestinal problems over the past several years. The team includes dedicated specialists in pediatric surgery and transplantation; pediatric gastrointestinal medicine and nutrition; advanced practice nursing; and child life and social support services. This range of service, essential to helping these children and their families cope with these overwhelming health problems, is only available at a world's leading children's hospital.

For more information, patients may call 866-NYP-NEWS.

Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian

Ranked by U.S.News & World Report as one of the top ten children's hospitals in the country, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian offers the best available care in every area of pediatrics—including the most complex neonatal and critical care, and all areas of pediatric subspecialties—in a family-friendly and technologically advanced setting. Building a reputation for more than a century as one of the nation's premier children's hospitals, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian is affiliated with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and is New York City's only hospital dedicated solely to the care of children and the largest provider of children's health services in the tri-state area with a long-standing commitment to its community. Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian is also a major international referral center, meeting the special needs of children from infancy through adolescence worldwide.