Question: What to do for Biliary Atresia ?
Answer: - Biliary atresia is a life-threatening condition in infants in which the bile ducts inside or outside the liver do not have normal openings. - The first symptom of biliary atresia is jaundicewhen the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow. Other symptoms include dark urine, gray or white stools, and slow weight gain and growth. - Biliary atresia likely has multiple causes, though none is yet proven. - No single test can definitively diagnose biliary atresia, so a series of tests is needed, including a blood test, abdominal x ray, ultrasound, liver scans, liver biopsy, and diagnostic surgery. - Initial treatment for biliary atresia is usually the Kasai procedure, an operation where the bile ducts are removed and a loop of intestine is brought up to replace them. - The definitive treatment for biliary atresia is liver transplant. - After a liver transplant, a regimen of medications is used to prevent the immune system from rejecting the new liver. Health care providers may also prescribe blood pressure medications and antibiotics, along with special diets and vitamin supplements.
Source: NIDDK