Ultrasonography and percutaneous cholangiography in children with dilated bile ducts. Report of six cases.

Six children had dilation of intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts. The dilation was associated with or was secondary to lithiasis in two patients, spontaneous bile duct perforation in two others, and an abnormal pancreaticobiliary junction in the last two. All the children were screened by ultrasonography; five were subsequently examined by percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography. Ultrasonography permits rapid detection of bile duct dilation, while percutaneous cholangiography aids in the choice of the surgical procedure by locating the site of obstruction and sometimes disclosing the cause of obstructive jaundice.