Spontaneous Perforation of the Bile Duct

Spontaneous perforation of the bile duct in children is a very rare disorder. We experienced a 6 year-old girl with spontaneous perforation of the right hepatic duct. The patient was initially misdiagnosed as hepatitis because of elevation of liver enzyme and then as appendicitis because of fluid collection in the pelvic cavity demonstrated by ultrasonogram. A laparoscopic exploration was done and no abnormal findings were detected except bile-stained ascites. Peritoneal drainage was performed and the patients seemed to improve clinically. Abdominal pain, distention and high fever developed after removal of the drains. DISIDA scan showed a possible of bile leak into the peritoneal cavity. ERCP demonstrated free spiil of dye from the right hepatic duct. At laparotomy, the leak was seen in the anterior wall of the right hepatic duct 2cm above the junction of the cystk duct and common hepatic duct. The perforation was linear in shape and 0.8cm in size. The patient underwent cholecystectomy, primary closure of the perforation and T-tube choedochostomy. We could not identify the cause of the perforation; however, the T-tube cholangiography taken on the 42nd postoperative day showed a little more dilatation of the proximal common bile duct compared with the cholangiography taken on the 14th day. Long-term follow-up of the patient will be necessary because of the possibility for further change of the duct.

Adrenal Hemorrhage in a Neonate

Neonatal adrenal hemorrhage is frequently associated with birth trauma or perinatal hypoxia. Hemorrhagic necrosis of the adrenal glands is often found at autopsy and many small lesions are usually asymptomatic. A palpable abdominal mass and jaundice are the usual presenting signs. Ultrasound is very useful in the diagnosis of this lesion; however, if the mass has mixed echoic pattern, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is helpful for the differential diagnosis from neuroblastoma. We present the case of a female newborn who was found to have a abdominal mass on physical examination. The patient showed anemia and hyperbilirubinemia. An ultrasonogram disclosed a 3.8 × 3.0 cm suprarenal mass with mixed echoic pattern. The mass was initially suspected to be neuroblastoma. An abdominal computed tomogram was not able to differentiate the mass. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed markedly increased signal intensity on T1 and T2-weighted sequences. This findLl1g was consistent with adrenal hemorrhage. Serial sonogram demonstrated the mass that resolved completely by 12 weeks of age.