SURGICAL-TREATMENT OF CONGENITAL DILATATION OF THE BILIARY SYSTEM

Six out of 1,612 patients operated on for bili- ary diseases between J anuary 1974 and January 1985, had Caroli's disease. A summary of the c linical records is included. The treatment performed was: external dra inage in a patient with sepsis, who did not improve and died; left hep atic lobectomy and biliary-jejunal diversion in two patients; right ex tended lobectomy in one patient; distal spleno-renal shunt in a patien t with severe biliary cirrhosis and recurrent hemorrhage from esophage al varices. The last patient suffered from a combination of a choledoc hal cyst and dilatation of the left intrahepatic branches, and underwe nt complete resection of the choledochal cyst, and biliary jejunal ana stomosis on a porta-hepatis using a Roux-en-Y jejunal loop. Currently, five patients are recovering and are free of symptoms. The authors di scuss the indications for liver resection and resection of a choledoch al cyst.