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About the education tab | All about the liver and liver disease | Liver diseases | Education | Choledochal Cyst
Choledochal Cyst
The term choledochal cyst can be broken down into the following:
chole - relating to bile
dochal - containing or receiving
cyst - fluid collection A choledochal cyst is a swelling / widening or dilatation of the bile ducts. The condition usually affects the bile ducts outside the liver (the common bile duct and the hepatic ducts) but sometimes it also affects those inside the liver (the intrahepatic ducts). Bile collects within the dilated ducts and the flow of bile from the liver may be impaired. We don't know the exact cause of a choledochal cyst but it arises because of a malformation of the bile duct when the baby is developing in the womb in early pregnancy. Occasionally, the cyst is first seen during a routine ultrasound scan of the baby in early pregnancy. Only very rarely does the condition run in families.
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