Atresia de vías biliares en pediatría: Una Revisión de la Literatura
Biliary Atresia in pediatrics: A Review of the Literature
Javiera Benavides T.¹ , Carolina Espinoza G.¹ , Nicolás Pereira C.¹ y Carmen Gloria Rostion A.^2
1 Alumnos VII° Medicina, Facultad de Medicina Universidad de Chile.
² Tutor Docente, Cirujano Infantil, Servicio Cirugía Infantil Hospital Roberto del Río y Facultad de Medicina Universidad de Chile.

Biliary atresia (BA) is an uncommon obstructive cholangiopathy presented in the neonatal period with a poorly understood etiology.

It is the main cause of neonatal cholestasis, however the diagnosis is not easy. The most frequent presentation is late jaundice, generally after two weeks of birth. If there are not an early diagnosis and a bile flow reestablishment, the child succumbs to hepatic dysfunction and progress to cirrhosis.

Despite there is not an exam which certifies the diagnosis of BA, laboratory and imaging information, such as abdominal ultrasound, let us get closer to it. The hepatic biopsy can confirm the diagnosis in almost all the cases.

The election treatment is the portoenterostomy, using Kasai technique, which permit to reestablish the bile flow and prevent the cirrhosis development with posterior hepatic dysfunction. The main complication associated to the surgical treatment is cholangitis that can get worse the basal hepatic dysfunction.

Key words: Biliary atresia (BA), neonatal cholestasis, portoenterostomy, Kasai .

Abbreviattions: Biliary atresia (BA).

Count of words: 147