Intractable Chylothorax Following Mitral Valve Replacement in an Adult

• Main Authors: Ankit Jain, Arindam Roy, Saumya S Jenasamant, Manish Jawarkar, Harpreet S Minhas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2018-01-01
• Series: MAMC Journal of Medical Sciences
• Subjects: Chylothorax; lymphangiography; mitral valve replacement; thoracic duct
• Online Access: http://www.mamcjms.in/article.asp?issn=2394-7438;year=2018;volume=4;issue=3;spage=152;epage=154;aulast=Jain

Chylothorax after an open-heart surgery has previously been mentioned in the literature. We report this association in a young female post-mitral valve replacement surgery due to abnormal lymphatic channels. Medical management was conducted for 4 weeks. On failure of the conservative treatment, she underwent pleurectomy with suture ligation of the thymic gland remnants and pericardium for the chylothorax, which resolved following the redo surgery. This rare incidental variation in lymphatic drainage was responsible for refractory chylothorax, which otherwise could have been managed medically.