Laparoscopic Surgery Improves Outcomes for Severe Newborn Liver Disease

Biliary atresia is a rare but life-threatening liver condition in newborns that blocks bile flow and leads to progressive liver damage if not treated early. Surgery is typically performed within the first few months of life, but long-term outcomes have varied, and many children eventually require a liver transplant. In addition, post-surgical steroid therapy is widely used despite limited evidence on optimal dosing. A long-term study now shows that a minimally invasive surgical approach improves key recovery outcomes while questioning the benefit of high-dose steroid treatment.

In the study led by Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine (Nagoya, Japan), in collaboration with clinical partners, the team compared traditional open surgery with a laparoscopic approach for treating biliary atresia, a condition affecting about 1 in 15,000 newborns and the leading cause of pediatric liver transplantation. Open surgery involves a large abdominal incision to access the liver directly, while laparoscopic surgery uses several small incisions and a camera-guided system. Both techniques aim to create a new pathway for bile drainage when bile ducts are blocked or absent, but the laparoscopic method is designed to reduce tissue damage and surgical trauma.

Researchers analyzed outcomes from 356 children who underwent surgery at around two months of age and were followed for an average of 13 years. The analysis showed that laparoscopic surgery reduced blood loss by 68% compared with open surgery. In addition, jaundice clearance occurred in 81% of children who had laparoscopic surgery, versus 64% in those who underwent open procedures. The findings, published in Hepatobiliary Surgery and Nutrition, provide the most comprehensive long-term comparison of surgical approaches for biliary atresia to date.

The study also examined the impact of post-surgical steroid therapy, commonly used to reduce inflammation and promote bile flow. Children who failed to clear jaundice often received escalating steroid doses, but those treated with more than 90 mg/kg were 70% more likely to require a liver transplant. These results suggest that higher steroid doses do not necessarily improve outcomes and may be associated with poorer long-term prognosis.

While laparoscopic surgery required about an extra hour of operating time, hospital stays and long-term native liver survival were similar between both surgical methods. The researchers conclude that minimally invasive surgery offers clear benefits without compromising long-term success, and future care strategies should reassess steroid dosing protocols.

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