The Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute
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Programs Intestinal Failure and Transplantation What You Can Expect From an Intestinal Transplant
Introduction | Causes | What
Is It | Cases for Transplant |
After discharge from The Mount Sinai Hospital, you will require periodic follow-up. This follow-up is a crucial aspect of a successful transplant, since you will be prescribed new medications that must be taken for life to avoid rejection episodes. Medications often prescribed include Prograf®, prednisone, Cellcept®, and a variety of antibiotics. During the first few months, this drug regimen will be monitored by the Intestinal Failure and Transplantation team. Approximately three to six months after transplantation, you may undergo a second operation to close or remove the ileostomy. Following that procedure, your periodic follow-up may be carried out by your referring physician in consultation with our team. As you resume normal activities, we will continue to monitor your blood levels as well as other aspects of your condition. If you do not live near Mount Sinai, you and your family may arrange to stay at the special residential facility nearby called the Transplant Living Center. A separate brochure about this facility is available upon request. |
ur experience suggests that an organ will likely become available within three to six months after you have been placed on the waiting list. Transplantation may occur even sooner in pediatric cases where a family member is able to donate a small section of his or her intestine to be transplanted into the child. During this waiting time we will continue to monitor your condition closely. Once an organ has been identified for you, we will perform your transplant, and you will need to spend four to six weeks at The Mount Sinai Hospital. During your recovery we will: 1) switch you from TPN to enteral (by mouth) nutrition; 2) prescribe and adjust your immunosuppressive medications; 3) perform frequent endoscopies to diagnose possible rejection of the transplanted organ; and 4) reverse rejection if it begins. You will have an ileostomy for the first few months after your transplant.