Chylothorax, a relatively rare complication of thoracic surgery, mostly occurs on the right side. We present a 16-year-old male who received thoracoscopic surgery for left spontaneous pneumothorax. Chylothorax developed on the postoperative 2(nd) day and resolved after diet control on the 4(th) day. Unfortunately, chylothorax recurred 2 weeks later. Chest drainage and nil per os with total pare...

Traumatic chylothorax other than iatrogenic thoracic duct injury is extremely rare in children. Chylothorax can cause cardiopulmonary abnormalities and significant nutritional, metabolic and immunologic consequences. The management of chylothorax ranges from conservative treatment to surgical intervention. We present a four-year-old boy who presented with respiratory difficulty due to multiple ...

BACKGROUND Chylothorax is a rare but serious postoperative complication in esophageal cancer patients. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors associated with chylothorax and the indication for surgical intervention. METHODS A consecutive series of 1290 patients who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal cancer was included. Peri-operative data, including postoperative morbidity an...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether increased antithrombin loss is present in children with chylothorax after cardiac surgery. METHODS Plasma and pleural effusion samples of children with chylous and non-chylous pleural effusion were assayed for antithrombin activity. RESULTS Ten children with chylothorax and five children with non-chylous pleural effusion were investigated. There was statistica...

We thank Dr López-Gutiérrez for his interest in our recent work in CHEST . 1 The etiology of idiopathic chylothorax has indeed been hardly investigated and in most parts remains unsolved. We suggest that all cases of idiopathic chylothorax can be divided into two major categories: (1) occlusion of the upper part of the thoracic duct (TD) with development of compensatory collaterals and (2) chyl...

Chylothorax is an uncommon clinical entity caused by obstruction or rupture of the thoracic duct. Malignant disease, mostly lymphoma or metastatic carcinoma, accounts for half and surgical trauma for a quarter of all cases.' Occasionally, chylothorax is caused by thrombosis of the great veins, benign cysts, or lymphangiomas of the thoracic duct, tuberculosis, mediastinitis, paravertebral absces...

Transudative chylothorax is an uncommon type of chylous pleural effusion, typically secondary to chyle leak and a coexisting disorder such as heart failure or liver cirrhosis. Sclerosing mesenteritis is a rare inflammatory disease of the small bowel mesentery, and has once previously been reported as a cause of chylothorax. We present the case of an 81-year-old man with a right-side transudativ...

Chylothorax may rarely occur in osteolysis. A fatal case of bilateral chylothorax complicating massive osteolysis is described and the pathogenesis and management are discussed.

BACKGROUND Chylothorax is characterized by the presence of chyle in the pleural cavity. The healing rate of non-operative treatment varies enormously; the maximum success rate in series is 70%. We investigate the efficacy and outcomes of radiotherapy for postoperative chylothorax. METHODS Chylothorax was identified based on the quantity and quality of the drainage fluid. Radiation was indicat...

Chylothorax is a rare complication of advanced lymphoma. We present the case of an 80-year-old man diagnosed with B cell lymphoma presenting with a right chylothorax secondary to a large retroperitoneal mass. His disease was not responsive to initial treatment with chemotherapy. Fractionated radiotherapy to a dose of 2,000 cGy in five fractions was delivered to the retroperitoneal mass, and the...