# Hyaline cartilage at the portal plate and gallbladder in biliary atresia

## TL;DR

This paper reports the rare presence of hyaline cartilage in the liver and gallbladder of a baby with biliary atresia, suggesting a possible metaplastic process.

## Contribution

The study identifies immature hyaline cartilage in biliary atresia tissue, potentially indicating a metaplastic origin rather than heterotopia.

## Key findings

- Mature and immature hyaline cartilage was found in the portal plate and gallbladder wall of a biliary atresia patient.
- The merging of perichondrium with soft tissue suggests a metaplastic rather than heterotopic origin of the cartilage.
- This finding is rare and could provide new insights into the pathogenesis of biliary atresia.

## Abstract

Biliary atresia (BA) is a fibro-obliterative cholestatic disease of infancy. The presence of cartilage in the resected tissue is an uncommon finding.

We documented the presence of both mature and immature hyaline cartilage in the portal plate and the wall of the gallbladder in a 2-month-old girl infant with BA who had undergone Kasai portoenterostomy.

The presence of cartilage could be part of a heterotopia or an uncommon connective tissue metaplasia. The presence of immature cartilage with the merging of the perichondrium with the soft tissue highlights a metaplastic etiology in the index case.