Surgical advances in liver and bowel transplantation

Liver and intestinal transplantation are currently the treatments of choice for life-threatening hepatic and gastrointestinal failure. These technologies have evolved through contributions from the fields of immunology, anatomy, physiology, surgery, anesthesiology, critical care, ethics, epidemiology, and public health. Transplantation now accounts for the treatment of over 5,000 recipients per year who are in a state of organ failure. The available donor population, however, is not increasing to meet the demands of the faster growing recipient population. This discrepancy has led to the rapid development of novel strategies that require critical evaluation to build on the success rates in recent years. This article presents the most salient advances in liver and intestinal transplantation in the last 15 years.