Morio Kasai Corrects the Uncorrectable: Hepatic Portoenterostomy for Biliary Atresia

One of the fundamental innovations of pediatric surgery is hepatic portoenterostomy for biliary atresia, widely known as the Kasai procedure for its originator, Morio Kasai (1922–2008), of Sendai, Japan. It was the first effective operation for the “uncorrectable” form of biliary atresia, where death within months from biliary cirrhosis was certain. His radical premise was that microscopic ductules present in the fibrous tissue of the porta hepatis, when transected, drained enough bile to relieve cholestatic jaundice.