Biliary Disease

Biliary Disease – It is commonly known as bile obstruction

Types of Biliary Disease:

Biliary atresia
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

Biliary atresia – There are ducts that generally drain out the bile from the liver. But in the case of Biliary Astresia these ducts are closed or absent and that is why the bile is trapped inside the liver. This is one such disease that progresses soon after the birth. When bile is trapped inside the liver, the liver cells disrupt and gets damaged causing Cirrhosis.

Symptoms:

If jaundice persists after 2 to 3 weeks of birth, this is an indication of biliary atresia.
Some other symptoms are yellowing of the skin
The color of the stools is pale
The color of the urine is dark
Swollen abdomen
Enlarged liver
Loss of weight
Increase of jaundice, etc.

Treatment:

After the diagnosis of biliary atresia, the next step is to go for a surgery. Here the blocked ducts are cleared.
In Biliary atresia, early detection is very vital. In case of babies, after 2 months, the survival rate is more.

Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis:

There are bile ducts that drain bile from the liver. In the case of biliary atresia, the bile ducts get inflamed. When the scarring of these bile ducts continues the ducts eventually get blocked trapping bile in the liver. Bile is a very important part of digestion. It breaks down food. There are different assumptions about the causes of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis. Some researchers believe that Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis is caused by bacteria or viruses. But there are no confirming reports of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis causes.

Primary Biliary Cirrhosis:

There is bile that releases from the liver to the intestine and the bile is very vital for digestion. There are bile ducts that drain bile from the liver. In the case of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, the bile ducts get damaged. When the destruction continues, it eventually leads to liver cirrhosis. The causes of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis are still unknown, although there are many researches going on all round the globe.