Late-onset Chylothorax after Right Upper Lobectomy;Report of a Case
Sakaizawa, T.; Toishi, M.; Ozawa, K.; Nishimura, H.
Kyobu Geka. Japanese Journal of Thoracic Surgery 71(12): 1052-1055
2018
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-5252 PMID: 30449878 Document Number: 696663
Chylothorax after pulmonary resection is diagnosed usually within a few days after surgery, hence late-onset chylothorax is relatively rare complication. A 79-year-old woman underwent right upper lobectomy and mediastinal dissection for lung cancer. A chest tube was removed on postoperative day (POD)3, and she was discharged on POD 8. Fifty days after an operation, the patient developed a dyspnea on effort, and chest radiography revealed a right-sided pleural effusion, which we diagnosed as chylothorax. Because the treatments of a fat-free diet and subcutaneous octreotide acetate administration were ineffective, thoracic duct ligation was finally performed. The post-reoperative course was uneventful.