How to treat biliary atresia

  1.Kasai surgery BA treatment requires surgical methods to achieve, usually Kasai surgery is used to restore normal bile flow in order to achieve improvement in liver function and achieve long-term survival. If this surgery does not result in the jaundice subsiding or biliary cirrhosis occurring after surgery, liver transplantation is the only treatment option.   Kasai surgery is divided into open and laparoscopic surgery according to the surgical approach. open surgery, the traditional Kasai surgery, has become a widely used procedure in the surgical treatment of BA, while laparoscopic Kasai surgery is currently used in a few pediatric surgery centers due to its high technical requirements. The technique has gradually gained recognition with the promotion and application of laparoscopic techniques for the treatment of children with BA, but there is still controversy about the efficacy of laparoscopic Kasai surgery. Laparoscopic surgery is associated with more postoperative complications and poorer early prognosis compared with open Kasai surgery, and it is believed that laparoscopic techniques should be applied cautiously for the treatment of BA. However, most studies have concluded that laparoscopic surgery for BA is safe, feasible, and effective, and there is no difference in operative time, postoperative bowel function recovery, length of hospital stay, complications, and need for subsequent liver transplantation compared with open surgery. In addition to specific advantages (less injury and faster postoperative recovery) compared to conventional Kasai surgery, laparoscopic surgery allows better exposure of the porta hepatis during surgery without moving the liver, allowing for more precise tissue freeing and anastomosis of the porta hepatis, which facilitates postoperative recovery. Laparoscopic surgery can lead to different treatment results due to differences in surgeon’s operating techniques, which may be one of the important reasons for the differences in efficacy of laparoscopic treatment of biliary atresia. However, the advantages of laparoscopic surgery in terms of less trauma and faster postoperative recovery have been recognized by most scholars, and further clinical observation and research are needed to determine whether it can improve the long-term prognosis of biliary atresia.  2. Liver transplantation BA is a common indication for pediatric liver transplantation, accounting for more than 50% of all pediatric liver transplants. The successful use of liver transplantation for the treatment of children with BA has led to a significant increase in the demand for pediatric liver transplantation over the past 20 years. This has led to the widespread use of the following liver transplantation techniques: reduced volume liver transplantation, split liver transplantation, and living liver transplantation. It was found that survival after liver transplantation in children with BA did not correlate with age at surgery or previous Kasai surgery history, with the highest graft survival rate for split liver transplantation and the lowest overall graft survival rate for reduced volume liver transplantation.  The age of surgery in children with biliary atresia is an important factor in determining their prognosis, and the results of surgical treatment are generally better within the first 60 days of life. Therefore, once a child is found to have skin and scleral jaundice, white stools, deep yellow urine, and long-term application of cholestatic and anti-yellowing medications that are ineffective, he or she should be seen promptly at a pediatric specialty hospital, especially a larger children’s hospital that specializes in pediatric surgery, and if necessary, receive a laparoscopic cholangiogram If necessary, laparoscopic cholangiography should be performed to confirm the diagnosis so as not to delay the treatment.