[Short bowel syndrome and report of three cases]

ABSTRACT

The absorptive and digestive surface of small intestine in healthy adults is more than that needed to maintain adequate nutrition, so resection of small amounts of small intestine usually causes no clinical symptoms. Resection of up to 40 per cent of total length of the small intestine is usually well tolerated; provided that the duodenum, 100 cm of early jejunum, the distal half of the ileum, and ileocecal sphincter are spared. In contrast, resection of the distal two - third of ileum and ileocecal sphincter alone may induce severe diarrhea and significant malabsorption; even though less than 25 percent of the distal small intestine has been resected. Resection of 50 percent or more of the small intestine usually results in significant malabsorption, and resection of 70 percent or more of the small intestine often produces such catastrophic malabsorption that survival of the patient is threatened. Short bowel syndrome is the clinical and laboratory findings of malabsorption syndrome that result from extensive intestinal resection. Aim of this study is description of small bowel syndrome and various clinical pictures and its complication. In this article 3 patients with short bowel syndrome are introduced. Many problems of these patients that result from resection of large amounts of small intestine, which affect vital organs and cost of its treatment, necessitate more attention to this problem and maintenance of maximal length of small intestine in abdominal operation