Patient's question:
A few days ago, my neighbor Uncle Li passed away due to biliary atresia. I feel very sorry for his family, and at the same time, it served as a wake-up call for me. Now I'm very worried that my family members might also develop this disease. Could you please tell me how long it takes for biliary atresia to be detected at the latest?Doctor's answer:
Hello! Congenital biliary atresia is one of the most important digestive surgical diseases in pediatric surgery and also the most common indication for pediatric liver transplantation. Typical cases involve infants who are full-term and most show no abnormalities, with normal stool color. Jaundice generally becomes apparent gradually 2-3 weeks after birth, and in some cases, jaundice appears in the first few days of life and is initially misdiagnosed as physiological jaundice. Generally, if jaundice persists and liver function abnormalities are present, liver and biliary ultrasound should be performed.