Intestinal failure is a condition that occurs when a child’s small intestine cannot absorb the nutrients needed to grow and thrive. The most common cause of intestinal failure in children is short bowel (or short gut) syndrome. Care for children with short bowel syndrome and intestinal failure requires the expertise of an experienced and multidisciplinary team. New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital is one of the world's best-known medical centers for treating children with short bowel syndrome and other disorders of the small intestine. At the New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Intestinal Rehabilitation Center, your child can receive specialized care from a team with expertise in treating intestinal failure in young patients with therapies designed to improve bowel function and give your child the best chance for health and quality of life.
Symptoms of Short Bowel Syndrome and Intestinal Failure
Children with short bowel syndrome and intestinal failure often experience gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms associated with an inability to absorb nutrients. Symptoms include:
- Diarrhea
- Bloating
- Gas
- Feeding intolerance
- Oral aversion
- Poor growth
- Dehydration
- Fluid and electrolyte imbalance
- Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
- Liver dysfunction, cholestasis
Why Choose Us
Nationally Ranked Children’s Hospital
NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital is among the nation's leading centers for the diagnosis and treatment of childhood diseases. It is a major referral center for complex and rare digestive disorders in infants, children, and adolescents.
Expertise in Pediatric Digestive Disease
At NewYork-Presbyterian, our multidisciplinary teams have extensive experience diagnosing and treating all forms of digestive disease in children using a range of different therapies, all personalized for the best results. With a world-renowned team of doctors in multiple specialties, families everywhere come to us for diagnosis, treatments, surgery and transplantations, and long-term care.
Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs)
New York-Presbyterian’s neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are among the most experienced and most highly regarded units in the country. Our state-of-the-art Level IV NICUs — the highest level of neonatal care available — care for more than 1,500 critically ill infants each year, including low birth weight babies, premature babies, infants with respiratory distress, gastrointestinal disorders, congenital abnormalities, and other conditions that may require surgery. Our highly trained neonatologists, surgeons, nurses, and nurse practitioners use the latest technology and therapies available to offer newborns with critical illnesses the best chance for survival and quality of life. Doctors can arrange for the transport of critically ill infants from area hospitals to our NICU 24/7 using our specialized transport service (reached at 1-800-NYP-STAT).
The Only Pediatric Intestinal Rehabilitation Center in the Region
New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Intestinal Rehabilitation Center is the largest intestinal rehabilitation program in the region and offers treatments that no other program in the region can provide. Here, your child can receive specialized and cutting-edge care from a team with expertise in treating intestinal failure in young patients. Intestinal rehabilitation involves therapies designed to improve bowel function through a combination of nutritional support, medication, and restorative surgery. Many children transition to oral feeding through our comprehensive treatment program.
Expertise in Small Bowel Transplantation
If your child is still unable to absorb enough nutrients or has irreversible intestinal problems with serious complications, we may recommend small bowel transplantation. At New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, our transplant specialists have been performing this surgery for more than two decades. We offer intestinal and multi-visceral organ transplantation to children when other treatment strategies have failed. Specialists at New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital perform isolated small intestine transplantation in children with intestinal failure who have a functioning liver and offer combined liver and intestinal transplantation for patients with both liver and intestinal failure.
Leaders in Education and Research
As part of our comprehensive approach to digestive disorders, we are researching ways to help our patients become capable of adequate digestion and absorption of nutrients and to treat liver complications that can develop as the result of TPN management. Our team is also establishing a dedicated transition clinic for adolescents and young adults that will focus on promoting self-management skills, assessing mental health needs, and providing medical and nutritional education. We are also planning a symposium to educate physicians about intestinal rehabilitation and short bowel syndrome.
Access to World-Class Pediatric Specialists
Your child's healthcare team has access to all of the various pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists who practice at New York-Presbyterian, ensuring that all of your child's medical needs can be addressed.
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