Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is characterized by a compromised bowel absorptive capacity because of a severely reduced mucosal surface resulting in diarrhea, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, and malnutrition. This leads to your child having nutritional problems and the inability to have proper growth and development.

Intestinal Failure (IF) can develop when a person's small intestine does not provide the necessary long term nutrition needed to sustain a normal life. This leads to the need for additional long term nutrition to be delivered through large veins in the body. This is called "Total Parenteral Nutrition" or "TPN."

The prognosis of adaptation if a short bowel depends on: The length of the bowel left The anatomical section of bowel that is remaining Since different parts of the bowel absorb different types of nutrients, depending upon which section your child is lacking, will determine the nutritional deficiencies he or she will have and the extent of his or her intestinal failure.

The medical management of patients with short bowel syndrome aims to promote gut adaptation and to recover intestinal function sufficient to achieve intestinal autonomy (parenteral nutrition [PN] weaning).