Short Bowel Syndrome: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS) refers to the condition where your body becomes incapable of absorbing nutrients from food because of a short and dysfunctional small intestine. This condition often leads to serious bowel problems like diarrhea. People who’ve had portions of their small intestine surgically removed due to cancer, blood clots in the arteries etc, are usually affected by this syndrome. In certain cases where portions of the small intestine are damaged or missing, a surgery is inevitable.

Portions of small intestine are often removed due to the following reasons: Crohn’s disease- this shows symptoms of inflammation and belly pain resulting in diarrhea or other digestive problems; Cancer- due to damage caused by cancer treatments like radiotherapy; Bowel injury- due to serious injury or blood clotting in the arteries.

If a person shows symptoms of SBS like bloating, gas, weight loss, heartburn, fatigue, anemia, gallstones or kidney stones, one must consult the doctor. Diagnosis of the treatment involves physical examination like blood test, stool test, bone density examination, CT scan and liver biopsy. Post diagnosis treatment normally includes specific and healthy diet plan, medication and if necessary, a surgery.

SBS treatment begins with a thorough checkup and diagnosis of the symptoms you encounter. The initial steps involve blood test and stool test, performing an X-ray on the upper part of your chest and stomach, CT scan and ultrasound, bone density examination. Other than these, liver biopsy and Upper Gastrointestinal Series (barium X-ray) are also conducted to detect the condition.

Treatment of SBS mainly includes nutritional supplements like drinking fluids and water which are high and rich in rehydrating minerals, intake of vitamins and minerals to prevent dehydration and indigestion. People are strongly recommended to avoid taking food that is high in protein and fat. In some cases food is given through an intravenous line, commonly known as parental nutrition. Medications prescribed for treating SBS antibiotics and antacids to prevent bacterial growth and gastric acid secretion. Drugs and medicines like loperamide are given to patients, which help in controlling the symptoms of diarrhea while teduglutide help improving intestinal absorption. Doctors perform intestinal transplants on patients for whom nutritional supplements and medications have failed, wherein the damaged or infected small intestine is surgically replaced with a healthy one from a donor person.

There are a few side effects of Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS) which typically include: small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, malnutrition, peptic ulcers, and kidney stones. Use of medicines and drugs like loperamide leads to further complications such as abdominal pain, constipation, sleepiness, vomiting and dry mouth. Common side effects of teduglutide involve respiratory infection, abdominal discomfort, vomiting and nausea. People suffering from this condition are unable to absorb enough water, vitamins, minerals or nutrients from food.

The exact time period to recover from Short Bowel Syndrome is not known. In some cases the condition of the patient improves after initial medication and intake of supplements while in other cases the patient may need to undergo intestinal transplant. The improvement in your condition depends on several factors like age, physical fitness, how much affected your small intestine has been etc.

The estimated cost of undergoing intestinal transplant roughly varies between Rs.25lakhs- Rs.30 lakhs. The initial and necessary tests that need to be carried out at the time of diagnosis cost about Rs.25,000- Rs.30,000.

Whether the results of Short Bowel Syndrome treatment are permanent or not, has not been proved yet. However, in case of intestinal transplant the patient has his small intestine replaced with a healthy one from a donor.