portoenterostomy /pôr′tō·en′təros″təmē/ [L, porta + Gk, enteron, bowel, stoma, mouth, temnein, to cut] , construction of a bile drainage system with an intestinal conduit to correct biliary atresia. There are several procedural approaches, such as anastomosis of the jejunum by a Roux-en-Y loop to the portal fissure region to establish bile flow from the bile ducts to the intestine. The procedure is indicated in patients younger than 3 months of age. The operation is successful in most cases, but in a significant number of patients late mortality occurs because of chronic medical problems. Without the operation, biliary cirrhosis develops with an attendant early death. Also called Kasai operation.
