Use of Distractive Forces to Lengthen Small Bowel: Determinaton of Safe Levels of Applied Force

Abstract

Background: Mechanotransduction, the translation of mechanical force into cellular growth, has been shown to induce a 2.7-fold increase in bowel length over 10 days in a pig model. However, the mechanical properties of small bowel, including safe levels of applied distractive forces, are unknown. Our study aims were to characterize the mechanical properties of human and pig bowel with respect to longitudinal lengthening, and to establish a safety threshold for applying intestinal distractive forces.