Inflammatory bowel disease and bowel regeneration and rehabilitation

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Centre at St Mark’s Hospital is nationally and internationally recognised. A large multidisciplinary team is involved in the care of these patients with gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons, specialist nurses, endoscopists, radiologists, pathologists, nutrition experts, pharmacists, a dedicated Psychological Medicine Unit and a clinical research team all working with the same goal of improving the lives of these patients. The central players of the multidisciplinary team are the patients themselves. This patient-centred approach, with patients and clinicians coming together to ensure the right questions are asked and answered to optimally develop the research and clinical service, lies at the heart of the IBD unit at St Mark’s.

The Aim

The ambition of the IBD Unit at St Mark’s is to provide the best multidisciplinary care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. We commit to provide the most appropriate and evidence-based therapy for patients with Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis. We aim to:

• Advance the clinical service to optimise the patient experience
• Be at the forefront of improving existing therapies, and providing novel therapies to IBD patients
• Develop predictors of disease course and response to therapy so that therapeutic options are personalised
• Advance the current understanding on the cause of the disease using our excellent links with microbiologists and immunologists within Imperial College and collaborators elsewhere

Intestinal Regeneration and Rehabilitation

St Mark’s is currently one of only two national centres specialising in this area. The Intestinal Regeneration Unit at St Mark’s and the Griffin Institute is developing pioneering research in the growth of new small bowel. This will enable us to grow a new length of a patient’s own small bowel and attach it to their existing bowel.

The Challenge

To improve patient outcome for those with Intestinal Failure.

The Aim

The ambition for the Intestinal Rehabilitation Unit (Intestinal Failure Unit) at St Mark’s is to provide the best multidisciplinary care for patients with Intestinal Failure. There are a number of advances that will help to change the lives of patients with Intestinal Failure. These include; surgical techniques to lengthen the bowel, new medications which stimulate the bowel to grow (growth factors), intestinal transplantation and bowel regeneration (tissue engineering new bowel for patients using their own stem cells).