[The management of post operative chylothorax].

ABSTRACT

Post operative chylothorax occurs in less than a few percentages of pulmonary resection and lymph node dissection for lung cancer and is a serious complication. The management of post operative chylothorax is both conservative and surgical treatment and generally the former is used. In our hospital during 1992-2005, almost patients responded to conservative treatment. Surgical interventions with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is considered that it is low invasive method and can prevent the demerits of conservative therapy such as infection of long-term drain detention and lymphocyte loss, malnutrition and so on. Early detection of surgical interventions might be one of strategies in the management of post operative chylothorax for the patients with much quantity of drainage. We consider that administration of somatostatin and lymphangiography are effective treatments and are recommended as the previous step of surgical interventions.