Intestinal Bowel Lengthening within the First 6 Months of Life: Institutional Experience and Review of the Literature

Background: Management of short bowel syndrome in children has been surrounded by much debate with timing of the lengthening procedure still controversial. Early bowel lengthening procedure (EBLP) has been defined as any bowel lengthening procedure performed before 6 months of age. The purpose of this paper is to report the institutional experience in EBLP and to review the literature on this subject to identify common indications. Methods: An institutional retrospective analysis of all the intestinal lengthening procedures was performed. Furthermore, an Ovid/Embase search regarding children who underwent bowel lengthening in the past 38 years was conducted. Primary diagnosis, age at procedure, type of procedure, indication, and outcome were analyzed. Results: Ten EBLP were performed in Manchester from 2006 to 2017. Median age at surgery was 121 days (102–140), preoperative small bowel (SB) length was 30 cm (20–49) while postoperative SB length was 54 cm (40–70), with a median increased bowel length of 80%. Ninety-seven papers were reviewed, with more than 399 lengthening procedures performed. Twenty-nine papers matched criteria with more than 60 EBLP were observed of which 10 were performed in a single center from 2006 to 2017. EBLP was performed due to SB atresia, to excessive bowel dilatation or failure to enteral feeds, at a median age of 60 days (1–90). Serial transverse enteroplasty was the most frequent procedure used lengthening the bowel from 40 cm (29–62.5) to 63 cm (49–85), with a median increased bowel length of 57%. Conclusions: This study confirms that no clear consensus on indication or timing to perform early SB lengthening is reported. According to the gathered data, EBLP should be considered, only in cases of actual necessity after review of qualified intestinal failure center.