Samuel Wabada*,Auwal Mohammed Abubukar,Kefas John Bwala,Hyeladi Mshelia Dulla
Choledochal cyst (CC) is not common in Africans. Unlike biliary atresia, this condition commonly presents in late infancy and early childhood, and occasionally also in adults. Typical pattern of presentation is with abdominal mass, abdominal pain and seldom intermittent jaundice. These conventional presentations can be sometimes heralded by chollangitis, malnutrition, and failure to thrive in some category of patients with delayed presentation. Case 1 was a 2-month-old girl who developed fluctuating jaundice on the 5th day of life, associated steatorrhoea, and yellowish discolouration of the urine and occasional bilious vomiting. Ten days before presentation she developed low grade fever, excessive crying and refused to suck. She was resuscitated and hepaticoduodenostomy was performed between the second part of the duodenum and the stump of the common hepatic duct. Case 2 was a 4-year-old girl who presented with a 5-month history of fluctuating jaundice associated abdominal pain, epigastric swelling, weight loss and occasional non-bilious vomiting. A retrocolic end-to-side Roux-en-Y hepaticodochojejunostomy was performed after nutritional rehabilitation. Case 3 was a 5-year old girl with intermittent jaundiced noticed 2-months before presentation, right hypochondrial swelling and colicky right sided abdominal pain almost of same duration. Intraoperatively features of likely cirrhotic liver changes in addition to a huge choledochal cyst were seen. An end to side Roux-en-Y hepaticochojejunostomy was established to the stump of the common hepatic duct. All the cases did well after surgery and were discharged. Regardless of the clinical features, and the morphological changes in the liver, excision of the cyst with establishment of free flowing hepatoenterostomy should be done. Patients’ general outlook can be immediately improved after excision of the cyst with hepatoenterostomy. Because the complications of caused by bile flow obstruction are remarkably reduced or rather eliminated. We hereby report three cases we recently managed in our centre with complications of choledochal cyst which improved after excision of the cyst with creation of hepatoenterostomy.
