children s health issues
Biliary Atresia
Diagnosis of Biliary Atresia
Blood tests Radionuclide scanning Ultrasonography Surgery To diagnose biliary atresia, a doctor does a series of blood tests and an imaging test using a radioactive tracer. The tracer is injected into the infant's arm, and a special scanner tracks the flow of the tracer from the liver into the gallbladder and small intestine (called hepatobiliary scanning—a type of Radionuclide (Radioisotope) Scanning ). If the defect is still suspected after these tests, surgery (which consists of examination of the liver and bile ducts and a Biopsy of the Liver ) is done to diagnose it. To prevent Cirrhosis of the Liver , doctors must diagnose and treat biliary atresia within the first 1 to 2 months of the infant's life. 