NHS Specialised Services

Severe Intestinal Failure Treatment

The Severe Intestinal Failure Service treat patients with the most severe cases of intestinal failure. These patients are referred from general hospitals and teaching hospitals and have intestinal conditions that cannot be managed in a lower-intensity setting at local or regional intestinal failure units.

The major conditions covered by the service include: 

• Severe and/or fistulating Crohn's disease
• Short bowel syndrome after massive intestinal resection for mesenteric vascular catastrophe
• Patients suffering from complications of severe pancreatitis
• The after-effects of therapy for malignancy
• Other conditions in which the intestine has ceased to function (e.g. pseudo-obstruction).