Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 1997, 181 (1)

Biliary Atresia: Current Management and Outcome

TOSHIHIRO MURAJI1, EIJI NISHIJIMA1, YASUYUKI HIGASHIMOTO2 and CHIKARA TSUGAWA1

1Department of Surgery, Kobe Children's Hospital Kobe 654, and 2Department of Surgery, Chiba Children's Hospital Chiba 266

  • Between 1986 and 1994, 42 patients with BA were treated at the Kobe Children's Hospital. These patients underwent a wider excision of the hilar fibrous remnant with Roux-Y reconstruction (with or without intussuscepted valve) without stoma. Corticosteroids were used postoperatively when the stool was acholic or unsteadily cholic. The daily dose was reduced from 20 mg/day by half down. The patients were divided into two groups; in Group I ( n = 17, before October 1990), a single course of corticosteroid therapy was employed. In Group II ( n = 25, from November 1990 on), this regimen was repeated whenever the stool appeared less cholic. The bile flow improved significantly (excellent in 29% and 60%, and poor in 71% and 32% in Groups I and II, respectively.) Corticosteroids were used in 15 Group I patients with good response in 10 and in 21 Group II patients, 15 of whom had multiple courses. Sixteen of the 21 Group II patients had a good response. The incidence of the cholangitis was not significantly different between the 19 patients with valve and the 23 patients without valve. A 5 year survival significantly improved from 70% in Group I to 96% in Group II. In both groups, the survival rate significantly increased, when compared with the survival rate figured out with an assumption of OLT survivors as dead. On the same assumption, the survival rate of Group II is significantly more than that of the Group II. These suggest a positive contribution of liver transplantation and an aggressive corticosteroid therapy on better survival of Group II.
    Key word(s)--- biliary atresia; corticosteroid; liver transplantation

    Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 1997, 181, 155-160
    Address for reprints: Toshihiro Muraji, M.D., Department of Surgery, Kobe Children's Hospital, 1-1-1 Takakuradai, Suma-ku, Kobe 654, Japan.

    Back to CONTENTS.