Hepatic portoenterostomy: an assessment of its value in the treatment of biliary atresia.

A series of 12 infants undergoing hepatic portoenterostomy for incorrectable-type biliary atresia is reviewed. There has been no evidence of a sustained postoperative increase in bile excretion or improvement in biliary cirrhosis in any patient. Survival statistics for the group as a whole are poor with a mean postop survival time of 11 months and a mean total survival time of 15.3 months. These survival times are worse than that previously reported for infants with untreated biliary atresia. Our disappointing results with hepatic portoenterostomy raise doubts concerning its value in the treatment of biliary atresia.