Improvement of small intestinal microcirculation by postconditioning after lower limb ischemia.

•We assess remote small bowel injury after infrarenal aortic occlusion.•Significant reduction in superior mesenteric artery flow was detected.•Microcirculation of the three bowel segments showed considerable impairment.•The degree of histological damage correlates well with microcirculatory damage.•Postconditioning is able to reduce the degree of remote small bowel injury.