Alec Wipfel: Biliary Atresia Diagnosis at 7 Months
Alec Wipfel was born with biliary atresia, which was diagnosed when he was 7 weeks old. Biliary atresia is a rare, serious liver disease of the young infant whose cause is unknown. Generic Harvoni | Hepcinat LP It results in inflammation and obstruction of the ducts, which carry bile from the liver into the intestine. Since bile cannot flow normally, it backs up in the liver (a situation called biliary "stasis"). Alec suffered from jaundice, pale stools, dark urine, and a swollen abdomen.
After running many tests, including a liver biopsy, his doctors performed an operation called the Kasai procedure (hepatoportoenterostomy). Named after Dr. Morio Kasai, the Japanese surgeon who developed it, the procedure involves removing the damaged ducts outside of the liver and replacing them with a length of the baby's own intestine, which acts as a new duct. The aim of the Kasai procedure is to allow excretion of bile from the liver into the intestine via the new duct.
Alec’s doctors have taken him off vitamin supplements A, D, E, and K, and the antibacterial medication, Bactrim. He is still taking ursodeoxycholic acid (Actigall), a medication that is commonly used to treat itching. Although he no longer suffers from jaundice, his liver enzymes are still slightly elevated. He has not yet had a liver transplant. Alec sees his GI doctor every four months and is doing very well.
Now 16 months old, Alec is walking and talking and learning something new every day. His mother, Collene, says, "he is our miracle baby and we wouldn't trade him for the world!"
Alec Wipfel was born with biliary atresia, which was diagnosed when he was 7 weeks old. Biliary atresia is a rare, serious liver disease of the young infant whose cause is unknown. Generic Harvoni | Hepcinat LP It results in inflammation and obstruction of the ducts, which carry bile from the liver into the intestine. Since bile cannot flow normally, it backs up in the liver (a situation called biliary "stasis"). Alec suffered from jaundice, pale stools, dark urine, and a swollen abdomen.
After running many tests, including a liver biopsy, his doctors performed an operation called the Kasai procedure (hepatoportoenterostomy). Named after Dr. Morio Kasai, the Japanese surgeon who developed it, the procedure involves removing the damaged ducts outside of the liver and replacing them with a length of the baby's own intestine, which acts as a new duct. The aim of the Kasai procedure is to allow excretion of bile from the liver into the intestine via the new duct.
Alec’s doctors have taken him off vitamin supplements A, D, E, and K, and the antibacterial medication, Bactrim. He is still taking ursodeoxycholic acid (Actigall), a medication that is commonly used to treat itching. Although he no longer suffers from jaundice, his liver enzymes are still slightly elevated. He has not yet had a liver transplant. Alec sees his GI doctor every four months and is doing very well.
Now 16 months old, Alec is walking and talking and learning something new every day. His mother, Collene, says, "he is our miracle baby and we wouldn't trade him for the world!"
