Biliary Disorder
Biliary Atresia
Biliary atresia is a life-threatening condition in infants in which the bile ducts inside or outside the liver do not have normal openings.Bile ducts in the liver, also called hepatic ducts, are tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder for storage and to the small intestine for use in digestion. Bile is a fluid made by the liver that serves two main functions: carrying toxins and waste products out of the body and helping the body digest fats and absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.
With biliary atresia, bile becomes trapped, builds up, and damages the liver. The damage leads to scarring, loss of liver tissue, and cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a chronic, or long lasting, liver condition caused by scar tissue and cell damage that makes it hard for the liver to remove toxins from the blood. These toxins build up in the blood and the liver slowly deteriorates and malfunctions. Without treatment, the liver eventually fails and the infant needs a liver transplant to stay alive.
The two types of biliary atresia are fetal and perinatal. Fetal biliary atresia appears while the baby is in the womb. Perinatal biliary atresia is much more common and does not become evident until 2 to 4 weeks after birth. Some infants, particularly those with the fetal form, also have birth defects in the heart, spleen, or intestines.
Symptoms:
The first symptom of biliary atresia is jaundice––when the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow. Jaundice occurs when the liver does not remove bilirubin, a reddish-yellow substance formed when hemoglobin breaks down. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that gives blood its red color. Bilirubin is absorbed by the liver, processed, and released into bile. Blockage of the bile ducts forces bilirubin to build up in the blood. Other common symptoms of biliary atresia include:
- dark urine, from the high levels of bilirubin in the blood spilling over into the urine
- gray or white stools, from a lack of bilirubin reaching the intestines
- slow weight gain and growth
Biliary atresia is treated with surgery, called the Kasai procedure, or a liver transplant.
This informational material is taken from resources by AstraZeneca LP and Caremark, Inc., as well as the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Please see the Contact Us page for street maps.
Click here to
Request an Appointment.