OBJECTIVES Chylothorax is an infrequent but serious complication after thoracic surgery. Optimal management is still controversial. Surgical re-interventions are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. DESIGN During a 2-year period, 3 patients developed chylothorax after oesophagectomy. This was treated conservatively, following our departmental protocol. RESULTS Conservative m...

Received 10 June 2015 Accepted 12 August 2015 Online 31 August 2015 Print 31 August 2015 Chylothorax is a relatively rare clinical entity caused by injury or obstruction of the thoracic duct or its tributaries leading to accumulation of chyle in the pleural cavity. It is characterized by a high concentration of neutral fat and fatty acids in the pleural fluid. Bilateral chylothorax is even more...

A 70-year-old man with T1N3M1 stage IV squamous cell carcinoma in the right upper lobe of the lung developed chylothorax and chylopericardium as rare simultaneous complications. Intravenous hyperalimentation, repeated pleurodesis, and ligation of the thoracic duct were all ineffective. A pleuroperitoneal shunt was inserted into the right pleural cavity from the fifth intercostal space, and a pe...

Background: Chylothorax is an extremely rare but potentially life-threatening complication after radical neck dissection. We report the case of a bilateral chylothorax after total thyroidectomy and cervico-central and cervico-lateral lymphadenectomy for thyroid carcinoma. Case presentation: A 40-year-old European woman underwent total thyroidectomy and neck dissection for papillary thyroid carc...

An unusual case of chylothorax is described in a 4-year-old child after repair of a ventricular septal defect and ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus through a median sternotomy. Left chylothorax developed after a latent period of six days and was treated initially with continuous drainage and parenteral supplementation of proteins and lipids. Operative intervention with oversewing of the si...

Chylothorax is caused by disruption or obstruction of the thoracic duct or its tributaries that results in the leakage of chyle into the pleural space. A number of interventions have been used to treat chylothorax including the treatment of the underlying disease. Lymphoma is found in 70% of cases with nontraumatic malignant aetiology. Although patients usually have advanced lymphoma, supradiap...

Purpose: To determine effectiveness of lymphatic interventional procedures for treatment of chylothorax. Material and methods: Analysis of interventions performed from 2001 to 2014. Results: In 21 patients with therapy resistant chylothorax a lymphatic radiological intervention was attempted, which could be performed in 19 cases: 17 thoracic duct embolizations (15 transabdominal, one transzervi...