Abstract
Postoperative course of twenty-six patients with biliary atresia were investigated to analyse the cause of prolonged jaundice. The following results were obtained. 1) Four types of clinical course after surgery were observed. In type 1, bile excretion is good and the amount of excreted bilirubin is usually exceeded that of bilirubin production. Serum bilirubin level quickly falls down to the normal level. In type 2, comparatively slow recovery of serum bilirubin is observed. In spite of the small amount of bilious fluid, the concentration of bilirubin is usually high. Bilirubin excretion gradually increases in this group. In type 3, the amount of excreted bilious fluid is adequate, but bilirubin concentration is very low. Serum bilirubin level does not decrease to normal level. In type 4, the amount of bile excretion from fistula is very low, even after re-operation. It is suggested that prolonged jaundice is related to the amount of the excreted bilirubin. 2) Life span of the red blood cell was short in two patients with prolonged jaundice althogh there was a good excretion of bile and bilirubin. It is assumed that the function of red blood cell is related to prolonged jaundice. 3) Proper use of cholagogues is recommended for the purpose to reduce the number of patients with prolonged jaundice.
