Doctors replace intestine

Brendan Cole's dream of marrying his sweetheart Kirrily on a Fijian beach has moved a lot closer after he survived a gruelling 12-hour multi-organ transplant, the first of its kind in Australia.

The 32-year-old, who has lived much of his life on intravenous nutrition because of intestinal failure, received a new liver, pancreas and small intestine.

The 20-member team, led by Professor Bob Jones and assisted by English transplant surgeon Darius Mirza, was elated with the outcome.

The first thing Cole said when he woke up was to remind the surgeons he had missed Friday night's Aussie Rules AFL match between Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs.

"He looks pretty good this morning, we're very pleased with how things have gone," Jones said.

Physician Adam Testro said Cole had not been able to eat solid food for the last decade.

"He got to the point where he didn't have long to live and this operation will enable him to lead a normal life," Testro said.

"He's got a partner, he wants to get married and live a normal life and this was holding him back. His long-term outlook was grim without this procedure."

Jones explained how his team stripped Cole's abdomen to the point where it was "just like an empty suitcase".

"It's one of the most spectacular findings in surgery – when you look inside the abdomen and there's nothing left," he said. "It's the sort of process that would gross you out ... but at the end of the operation, his tummy is full of all the normal organs."

Intestinal transplants have been done in 62 countries around the world and Mirza has been involved in about 70 operations at Birmingham Hospital in the UK.

"The risk of his body rejecting the new organs is high and infection is very common, so we're not out of the woods yet," Mirza said.

Cole will continue to receive nutrition through a tube for the next five weeks as his body adjusts to his new bowel and hopefully he will then slowly move onto fluids and solid food.

"I have so much to look forward to – I want to go back to work and contribute to society," Cole said. "Kirrily and I are planning our wedding on the beach in Fiji for when I have recovered."

The transplant cost between $300,000 and $400,000 and was bankrolled by the Victorian government. But Jones said it was a bargain because it cost $120,000 a year to keep Cole alive. AAP

- © Fairfax NZ News