Treatment of choledochal cysts in neonates

As the level of prenatal diagnosis technology improves and is widely used, more and more cases are clearly diagnosed during the fetal period. There is no complete unification about its treatment. Those suspected of having choledochal cysts in newborns should be closely monitored after birth, and liver function and ultrasound examinations should be performed regularly on a monthly basis. If there is no discomfort, normal bilirubin and aminotransferase, and no obvious change in the size of the cyst, radical surgery can be performed at 3-6 months of observation, and cystectomy should not be performed in the neonatal period; if the child has abdominal pain, vomiting, jaundice, or even whitish stools, abnormally high bilirubin and aminotransferase, or the diameter of the cyst has increased, or the cyst is indistinguishable from type I biliary atresia, radical surgery should be performed immediately. Otherwise, the liver function of the child will be impaired and even develop into cirrhosis. Because of the heavy lesions of biliary obstruction in neonates, the cysts are often combined with severe edema and adhesions around the cysts, the surgery is delicate and difficult to operate, requiring experienced pediatric surgeons to perform the surgery. Surgery is currently available either laparoscopic or open, both with high success rates.