[Growth in children with choledochal cyst].

AIM: In patients with a choledochal cyst, the malformation and subsequent biliodigestive reconstruction lead to a non-physiological state in the digestive tract and biliary excretion that could affect the child's growth. The effect of this malformation and its surgical treatment are reviewed here in a large patient cohort.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

Retrospective review of patients undergoing surgery for choledochal cyst in the last 20 years. Nutrition and liver function parameters, weight and height data were collected from medical records. Patients presenting other serious diseases affecting growth were excluded.

RESULTS

From 1994-2014 forty-five patients were diagnosed for choledochal cyst (75% female). All underwent cyst resection followed by Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. Eight patients were excluded for comorbidities and 37 selected for the study, with a median age at diagnosis and surgery of 16 (0-120) and 24 (1-149) months, respectively. The median follow-up was 76 (1-215) months. At diagnosis, 10.8% of patients had low weight, which was entirely resolved within 6 months after surgery (p< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The choledochal cyst induces a situation of moderate malnutrition in around 10% of the patients. Surgical correction quickly reverses this situation, despite the decreased absorption surface and deviation of biliary secretion to the jejunum instead of the duodenum.