<When will my baby be able to leave hospital and what happens next?
Providing that there are no complications following surgery, your baby will be home within two weeks of the operation. Before returning home the wound must be healed and your baby must have a normal temperature and have started to put on weight. You will be given an outpatient appointment.

Before your baby leaves hospital, you will be taught all about the special medicines and feeds. It is quite common for the hospital staff to advise your General Practitioner (GP) and local hospital about your child’s condition and any special aspects of care, which are needed. They can offer you useful support when you are at home.

When you get home you must try and treat your baby as normally as possible. Obviously you will be worried at times and this is quite normal. Babies with biliary atresia get common illness just like any normal baby. However, if your baby has a high temperature for more than 24 hours or becomes jaundiced, or if there is an obvious change in colour of the urine and stools, or your are worried, it is important for your to see your doctor as soon as possible.

Unless there is some problem other than biliary atresia it is very important that your baby is immunized against Diphtheria, Whooping Cough, Tetanus, polio, Hib and MMR in the normal way. It does not matter if the immumisations are a little late starting because of the operation and hospital stay.

If you or your local doctor have any queries regarding your child, please contact the Consultant or Ward Sister at the hospital treating your child

What will happen in the future?
Your baby / child’s growth and development will be followed up by periodic visits to the hospital. The frequency will vary with each child. Blood tests will be performed to measure the bilirubin level and the liver function. Periodically an ultrasound may be performed to assess the size of the liver and other structures in the abdomen (e.g. the spleen).

It may be that at some point in the future a short admission to hospital may have to be arranged, no matter how well your child is doing to generally assess progress.