$Unique_ID{BRK01348}
$Pretitle{Digestive System}
$Title{What is Biliary Atresia?}
$Subject{newborn biliary ducts}
$Volume{I-9}
$Log{}

Copyright (c) 1991   Tribune Media Services, Inc.


What is Biliary Atresia?


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QUESTION:  Although I have heard the term "biliary atresia" used in the paper
in stories of babies requiring liver transplant, a situation in our own family
now makes it important for me to understand the condition more fully.  Please
tell me what biliary atresia is, and how common it is?

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ANSWER:  About one infant in every 20,000 live births is affected by biliary
atresia.  This is a very serious disease in which the ducts that carry bile
from the liver to the intestines become inflamed and obstructed.  The first
signs of biliary atresia appear just a few weeks after birth.  The baby
becomes jaundiced (its skin becomes yellow), its abdomen may swell due to an
enlarged, hardened liver.  Some infants become extremely itchy, uncomfortable
and irritable.
     The cause of this often deadly disease is not yet known, although some
researchers believe it may be due to a viral infection around the time of
birth.  Besides liver transplants, there is only one method of treatment that
has been used with success in about 50 percent of cases.  An operation called
the Kasai procedure creates drainage of bile from the liver when the ducts
have become obstructed.  During the surgery, the damaged ducts are replaced
with a length of the baby's own intestine, which forms a new duct.
Unfortunately, this procedure only works if the damaged ducts were outside the
liver.  In many cases, the damaged ducts are inside the liver, and the only
hope is a liver transplant.  Such transplants are being perfected all the
time.  The rate of success is also improving because new drugs are being
developed which help with the problem of organ rejection.  Often, the most
difficult problem to overcome is finding a donor organ that is acceptable.
ÿ
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The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace 
the counsel and advice of your personal physician.  Promptly consulting your 
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical 
problem.
