Biliary Atresia

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Biliary Atresia
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What is Biliary Atresia?

• Biliary Atresia  is a rare disease of the liver
  and bile ducts mostly occurring in infants. The
  early symptoms of the disease start developing
  anytime between 2-8 weeks after birth. Bile is a
  liquid produced by the cells in the liver which
  helps digest fat. It also carries the waste from
  the liver to the small intestine for excretion.
  When an infant is suffering from biliary atresia,
  the bile flow from liver to gallbladder is
  blocked causing the bile to be trapped inside the
  liver, and damaging the liver cells.
• There are three main types of extrahepatic
  biliary atresia
• Type I Atresia is restricted to the common bile
  duct
• Type II Atresia of the common hepatic duct
• Type III Atresia involves the most proximal part
  of the bile ducts (gt95 of all cases)

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Symptoms

• What are the symptoms of Biliary Atresia?
• Initially, the symptoms of Biliary Atresia are
  non-distinguishable to neonatal jaundice.
  Children and infants with biliary atresia begin
  to show particular symptoms of the disease from
  2-8 weeks of their birth onwards. When the bile
  fails to drain from the liver due to blockage, it
  starts to build up inside and causes damage and
  scarring of liver cells.
• The symptoms of Biliary Atresia include
• Jaundice
• Itchiness
• Pale stool
• Dark or orange urine
• Swollen abdomen
• Poor absorption of nutrients causing delay in
  growth and weight loss

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Treatment

• Treatment of Biliary Atresia
• Which specialty of doctor is to be consulted for
  the treatment of Biliary Atresia in India?
• A Pediatric Surgeon is to be consulted for
  the treatment of Biliary Atresia in India.
• Which hospital is to be preferred for the
  treatment of Biliary Atresia in India?
• Medanta - The Medicity hospital in India is to be
  preferred for the treatment of Biliary Atresia in
  India.

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FAQ's

• 1. What are the causes of Biliary Atresia?
• The causes and reasons of biliary atresia are
  not completely understood. But in some cases, the
  incomplete development of bile duct in the
  mother's womb could be a reason, or the bile
  ducts could be affected due to a virus infection
  in perinatal period. Also, there are no links to
  medications taken during pregnancy. It is evident
  that 10-15 of infants with biliary atresia are
  born with abnormalities in the
• Heart
• Blood vessel (inferior vena canal anomalies)
• Intestinal (malrotation)
• Spleen (Polysplenia)
• Various researches have suggested that there can
  be either viral, toxin or genetically related
  damage to the biliary pathways.

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• 2. What are the risk factors associated with
  biliary atresia?
• The main risk factors associated with biliary
  atresia are
• Infection
• Smoking
• Genetic factors
• Environmental toxins
• 3. What can be the possible ways to prevent
  biliary atresia?
• To prevent the occurrence of biliary atresia,
  one should take care of
• Health
• Sleep hours
• Physical fitness

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• Eating habits
• 4. How is biliary atresia diagnosed?
• At Medanta - The Medicity hospital in India,
  diagnosis is made based on symptoms, physical
  examination, and medical history of the patient
  using blood tests, biopsy of liver, and imaging
  for a better and clearer picture.
• Blood tests confirm liver function abnormalities
  and identify the cause of jaundice.
• 5. How is biliary atresia treated?
• Biliary Atresia cannot be treated with
  medication. Other treatment option include
• Removal of damaged ducts

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FAQ's
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• The surgeon removes the damaged ducts outside the
  liver and identifies smaller ducts still open and
  draining bile. A loop of intestine is then
  attached to these open ducts for proper drainage
  and flow of bile from healthy ducts.
• Long Term Antibiotic Therapy
• Long Term Antibiotic Therapy is prescribed for
  avoiding any infection along with additional
  medications to maximize the success of the
  operation. In cases where Kasai procedure is not
  successful, liver transplant is the only
  solution. Success of the procedure is dependent
  on
• Age Younger the infant, greater the success
  rates of operation
• Extent of Liver damage

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FAQ's
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• Number and size of functional and healthy ducts
• Experience of the surgical and medical team
• 6. How common is Biliary Atresia ?
• Biliary Atresia occurs in 1 in 10,000 to 20,000
  live births. Biliary Atresia is one of the
  commonest causes of neonatal jaundice.
• 7. Is Biliary Atresia an inheritable disease?
• Biliary Atresia is not an inheritable condition.
  So if one baby suffers from Biliary Atresia then
  there is very small chance that the other sibling
  may also suffer from this same disease.

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