An 8-month-old boy from Northern New York successfully received five transplanted organs as part of a single procedure at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian—the first procedure of its kind performed at the hospital. A liver, small bowel, pancreas, colon and stomach were transplanted in the 7-hour operation, called multivisceral transplantation, a complex procedure that is rarely performed and requires superb medical and surgical coordination. The boy’s recovery has been successful, and he is expected to return home soon.

The patient was born with total intestinal atresia, a rare malformation of the entire gastrointestinal tract that makes nutrition possible only by artificial means. The only cure is transplantation.

The procedure involved a single donor, and the transplanted organs were kept together as a single unit with connections intact. A plastic mesh covering was initially used to protect the patient’s abdominal cavity; due to swelling, the abdomen was not fully closed for several weeks.

Dominique Jan, MD, transplantation surgeon at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian and professor of clinical surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, was recruited to the hospital from Paris in 2004. He is an international leader in intestinal failure and performed the world’s first successful intestinal transplant nearly 20 years ago.

The Intestinal Failure Program at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital has managed nearly 100 patients with devastating intestinal problems over the past several years. The team includes specialists in pediatric surgery and transplantation; pediatric gastrointestinal medicine and nutrition; advanced practice nursing; and child life and social support services.