Antenatal diagnosis of a choledochal cyst. Case management and literature review

ABSTRACT

Antenatal abdomino-pelvic ultrasound done on a 36-year-old woman at 19 weeks' gestation revealed a subhepatic cyst in the foetus. Postnatally, a type I choledochal cyst was confirmed in the newborn female infant. Biliary obstruction necessitated cyst excision and hepaticojejunostomy at age 16 days. We recommend early surgical intervention for neonates with choledochal cysts manifesting objective evidence of biliary obstruction. Non-obstructed patients are best explored later (> three months of age) when the risk of iatrogenic injury to the biliary tree and hepatic vessels is reduced.