Pediatric Intestinal Rehabilitation

Your Child’s Intestinal Health Comes F.I.R.S.T. at Broward Health

Life for children with injuries or rare conditions impacting their intestines, such as short bowel syndrome or intestinal failure, can be difficult. Their inability to absorb the proper vitamins, nutrients and fluids needed through diet alone often means planning your days around their routine. Removing any chances to spontaneously enjoy an ice cream after a long day on the beach.

To help these kids, and their loved ones, turn the corner from surviving to thriving, Broward Health’s dedicated pediatric gastroenterologists, nurses, nutritionists, pharmacists and multidisciplinary rehabilitation experts created the Florida Intestinal Rehabilitation Support and Treatment (F.I.R.S.T.) program.

At F.I.R.S.T., we put these young members of our community and their needs first by using parenteral nutrition (PN) – an intravenous (IV) solution of the crucial nutrients and hydration your child needs and the golden standard of intestinal failure management - as the first treatment option whenever possible. Turning to enteral (feeding tubes) nutrition or intestinal transplant only as a last resort. Allowing your child to grow and participate in their daily activities with minimal accommodation because their body has been trained to better absorb the nutrients it needs.

The healthcare leaders in F.I.R.S.T., located conveniently at Broward Health’s Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital, act as your child’s partner in care. Creating a unique healing environment, unlike any other in South Florida, with:

Highly specialized and innovative treatments tailored for each patient, including PN solutions and surgery
A prevention focus, to help protect against future issues
Compassionate, dedicated care enhanced by the power of some of Florida’s strongest academic medical programs
Access to the full spectrum of multidisciplinary care available at Broward Health

Pediatric Intestinal Care

What is intestinal rehabilitation?

F.I.R.S.T.’s quality-of-life focused intestinal rehab at Broward Health trains your child’s intestines to better absorb nutrients through dietary changes. Allowing them to better digest their food and improve chronic symptoms like diarrhea and bloating. Helping their body better optimize IV nutrition and possibly eliminating the need for it entirely.

Intestinal rehabilitation can also help prevent parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease (PNALD).

Our intestinal rehabilitation process starts with four simple steps:

Confirming the intestinal failure diagnosis
Identifying the best treatment plan for your child
Partnering with you or the appropriate guardian to schedule home care
Following up regularly to see how treatment is progressing

Why intestinal rehabilitation?

Intestinal rehabilitation at Broward Health provides a quality-of-life treatment versus intestinal transplant for children who must be fed using an IV — working with your child for the short-term or life depending on their unique needs and diagnosis.

Research shows intestinal rehabilitation improves both outcomes and quality of life for kids with intestinal failure. In fact, patients who receive IV nutrition instead of transplant average a 96% survival rate after five years, while those who receive intestine transplant or intestine and liver transplant average a 75% and 62% five-year survival rate, respectively.

Why choose Broward Health?

Broward Health’s F.I.R.S.T. team is dedicated to improving your child’s life. All day. Every day.

Board certified in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition, our specialists have trained at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and are specialized in nutrition support to perform at home PN.

At F.I.R.S.T., we provide the highest quality care for our youngest community members, often beating the national benchmarks for survival, mortality and treatment of PNALD.

Conditions We Treat

Our team includes a pediatric gastroenterologist specializing in parenteral nutrition, dietitians, pharmacists, social workers, speech pathologists and surgeons working together to help your child.