Short Bowel Syndrome
Alternate Names : Short Bowel Malabsorption Syndrome
Short bowel syndrome is a condition caused by surgery that removes part of the small intestine, such as an ileostomy.
What is going on in the body?
The small bowel carries food from the stomach to the large bowel, which attaches to the rectum and anus. It plays an important role in digestion. Vitamins, minerals, salts, and important fats are absorbed through the small bowel.
Removal of part of the small bowel decreases the area to absorb these nutrients. Many people can tolerate removal of up to 50% to 60% of the small bowel without having problems. However, when more than this amount or a key part of small bowel is removed, symptoms often occur. These symptoms make up what is called the short bowel syndrome.
What are the causes and risks of the condition?
The cause of this condition is removal of too much of the small bowel. Common reasons for surgery to remove part of the small bowel include:
treatment for a condition called Crohn's disease, which causes severe bowel inflammation for unknown reasons
bowel bypass surgery, usually done to help people with severe obesity lose weight
removal of dead bowel, which usually occurs due to poor blood supply
removal of areas of small bowel damaged by radiation therapy, which is commonly used to treat cancer. The damage to the bowel is known as radiation enteritis.
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