title: How can pathologists help to diagnose late complications in small bowel and multivisceral transplantation?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Intestinal transplantation (ITx) and multivisceral transplantation (MVTx) has evolved into a viable treatment option for short bowel syndrome and intestinal failure due to a variety of factors including improved immunosuppressive regimens, superior surgical and medical management, and enhanced posttransplant monitoring.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The transplant pathologist is a central member of the transplant team in all phases of solid organ transplantation and as such, plays an important role in the evaluation of early and late complications after ITx and MVTx. Central among the tools for the pathologist is the mucosal biopsy, used for discerning histopathological changes in the allograft. The principal complications seen in the late posttransplant phase are acute rejection, chronic rejection, infections, and a variety of other inflammatory conditions. In order to more precisely characterize these conditions, the transplant pathologist must also be able to utilize numerous other laboratory tests and panels of molecular biomarkers that serve as ancillary information to complement the biopsy impression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using this array of tools, the transplant pathologist is now able to provide rapid and precise information regarding the gastrointestinal (GI) transplant complications, a function that allows the clinical team to appropriately and successfully intervene and that helps contribute to the observed improvement in patient and graft survival.
authors.affiliation: University of Miami Transplantation Laboratories, Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA. pruiz@med.miami.edu
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ruiz
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000637:transplantation*; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012008:Recurrence; D012778:Short Bowel Syndrome / Q000601:surgery; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000473:pathology