Transplant Center

A STEP Ahead (the STEP procedure)

In 2002, Heung Bae Kim, MD, director of the Transplant Center, together with surgeon Tom Jaksic, MD, PhD, became the first to perform a serial transverse enteroplasty, or STEP, procedure. This procedure, devised by Dr. Kim and tested extensively on pig models first, reshapes the small intestine of children with short bowel syndrome to create a lengthier and more narrow passageway for food to travel through, allowing the body to absorb nutrients.

• In the STEP operation, special devices are used to simultaneously cut and staple the bowel in a direction to correspond with the small intestine's blood supply.
• Immediately after the STEP procedure, the small bowel has a "zigzag" appearance from these staples lines.

Click here for a 2006 Webcast, which featured a STEP procedure performed live, with commentary from Dr. Kim and Dr. Jaksic.

Since its invention, Children's doctors have performed 19 STEP procedures with increasing success, establishing Children's as one of the preeminent hospitals in the world for the treatment of short bowel syndrome.

STEP in the media:

• "A STEP Ahead" from the May 2003 edition of Children's News
• "Brainstorm to Breakthrough" from the August 4, 2003 edition of the New York Times
• "The Next STEP" from the February 2006 edition of Children's News