Biliary Atresia: Rare Condition in Newborns to Look Out For

One of the rare diseases occurring specifically in infants is the condition called biliary atresia. Its symptoms start to show or develop around two weeks from birth.

Cells found within the liver yield liquid, also known as bile, which helps in fat digestion. The rare disease carries waste products from the liver to the intestines for elimination from the body.

This particular network of channels and ducts is also known as the "biliary system." When it functions the way it should, it enables "the bile drain from the liver into the intestines."

According to medical experts, the causes of biliary atresia are not fully understood. For some infants, this condition may occur because the bile was unable to form during pregnancy properly.

Meanwhile, for some children with biliary atresia, the bile ducts may be impaired by the body's immune system in response to a viral infection obtained after birth.

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Who is Likely to Have Biliary Atresia?

As mentioned earlier, biliary atresia is a rare condition. About one in every 15,000 to 20,000 babies are found to have no complete bile ducts.

Studies about this condition indicate that biliary atresia appears to affect girls compared to boys. Within the same family, the disease is common for only one child, say, in a pair of twins, or only one child within the same family to acquire the illness.

Specifically, experts say, Asians and African-Americans are more likely to be more affected compared to Caucasians. There does not seem to be any association with drugs taken during pregnancy.

According to research, if you're wondering whether children with Biliary Atresia are suffering from other linked abnormalities, from 10 to 15 percent of newborn babies who have biliary atresia may be born with other problems in the hearth, blood vessels, and intestines.

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What are the Symptoms?

Infants with biliary arteries may appear normal at birth. Nonetheless, by their second or third week from birth, jaundice develops.

The newborn may experience average weight gain during the first month but will eventually lose weight and become irritable. The baby is also likely to experience worsening jaundice.

Parents should watch other symptoms closely in their newborns, including dark urine, floating stools, clay-colored stools, foul-smelling stools, slow weight gain, or not gaining weight at all, and slow growth, among others.

Is Biliary Atresia Treatable?

This condition cannot be treated by just giving the patient medicine. A procedure called Kasai or also known as a "hepatoportoenterostomy" is performed.

Kasai is a type of surgery performed to re-establish the bile flow into the intestine from the liver. The procedure's name came from a surgeon who developed the operation.

This surgery is performed to connect the liver to the small intestine "going around the abnormal ducts." Medical experts said Kasai is most successful if performed before an infant turns eight weeks old. Nonetheless, a liver transplant may still be required.

After the surgery through Kasai, infants typically stay in the hospital for seven to 10 days to get cured. Also, a long-term antibiotic is given to the baby to lessen the risk of infection. Additional medications may also be used to promote bile flow and maximization of the success of such a surgery.

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