1 Department of Pediatrics (R.A.C.), University of Kansas Medical Center
2 Department of Pathology, University of Kansas Medical Center
Thirty-seven infants with proven congenital biliary atresia were studied. The concentrations of bilirubin in the serum were so variable in the first 2 to 3 months after birth as to make the diagnosis of congenital atresia of the bile ducts on the basis of single or serial determinations of bilirubin in the serum exceedingly difficult. The amount of fibrous tissue did not correlate significantly either with the age of the infant or with the concentration of bilirubin in the serum. The amount of fibrosis in the liver was so great in certain infants by the time they were 2 months of age that early exploration according to the technique of Swenson would appear to be advisable.
Submitted on July 18, 1957