Surgeons in Lviv performed surgery on a 3-year-old girl with a rare birth defect
Surgeons in Lviv successfully operated on a 3-year-old girl with a very rare congenital malformation of the biliary tract. The cyst in the common bile duct had been asymptomatic for nearly three years before manifesting as sudden jaundice. Doctors were able to remove the cyst, and after the surgery, the child recovered quickly and has already returned home.
In Lviv, doctors performed a complex surgery on a 3-year-old girl who was diagnosed with a common bile duct cyst. This is a rare congenital defect of the biliary tract that occurs in approximately one in every 100,000 to 150,000 newborns. At first, the parents noticed that the child’s skin and the whites of her eyes had turned yellow. Because of this symptom, doctors initially suspected viral hepatitis. The girl was admitted to the infectious diseases hospital in Lviv. However, tests did not confirm hepatitis, so the young patient was urgently transferred to the Center for Pediatric Medicine, known as the “Okhmatdyt” Hospital.
There, the child underwent further testing, and the true cause of her condition was determined—a cyst of the common bile duct, or a choledochal cyst. “This is a congenital malformation of the biliary tract that occurs extremely rarely — approximately 1 case per 100,000–150,000 live births,” said pediatric surgeon and head of the Clinic of Emergency and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Ihor Gulavsky.
The cyst showed no symptoms for nearly three years
According to the doctors, the congenital malformation did not manifest itself in any way until the child was three years old. The cyst gradually grew along with the child but did not interfere with the body’s normal functioning for a long time. Eventually, it blocked the normal flow of bile. This is what caused obstructive jaundice, which turned the child’s skin and the whites of his eyes yellow.
Doctors explain that this condition can have other symptoms as well. These include abdominal pain, poor appetite, nausea, and a general feeling of being unwell. In this girl’s case, the problem was detected after a pronounced symptom appeared. Once the diagnosis was confirmed, it became clear that surgery was unavoidable.
A specialist with experience in adult surgery was brought in for the procedure
Since choledochal cysts are very rare in children, the pediatric surgeons in Lviv decided to bring a colleague with significant experience treating this condition in adults onto the surgical team. Andriy Chikaylo, a surgeon at the University Hospital of Lviv National Medical University, joined the team. The collaboration between pediatric and adult surgeons made it possible to perform the necessary procedure. The doctors successfully removed the common bile duct cyst.
After the surgery, the child’s condition gradually improved. The postoperative period and recovery proceeded without complications. The girl is now back home. However, the doctors will continue to monitor her condition. For follow-up, the child will need to undergo a routine ultrasound examination every three months. This will allow them to monitor the condition of the biliary tract and ensure that recovery is proceeding normally.
Thus, a rare congenital defect that had gone undetected for nearly three years was detected in time and successfully treated. The young patient is now continuing her recovery at home.
