[Echotomographic, scanographic and anatomic study of a case of cystic dilatation of the common hepatic duct].

The authors describe the case of a 16-year-old African woman presenting with a cystic dilatation of the common bile duct associated with a dilatation of the left intrahepatic bile duct, hepatic fibrosis and portal hypertension. The disease was revealed by a non-infectious cholestatic syndrome. The diagnosis was made before the intervention by abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography. A choledococyst-jejunostomy was performed which led to progressive normalisation of liver function. This report emphasizes the possibility of simultaneous lesions at different levels of the biliary tree in patients with choledocal cysts. The prognosis depends upon the state of the liver. A liver biopsy is therefore mandatory when an operation is performed. In the present case, the follow-up is too short to assess the regression of the biliary cirrhosis as described in the literature.