Congenital chylothorax in a trisomy 21 newborn

Summary We here report a case of trisomy 21 with congenital chylothorax. The patient was a male newborn who had been diagnosed as having trisomy 21 with congenital chylothorax. This is the fifth case of the both conditions in English literature. Congenital chylothorax is very rare in a trisomy 21 patient. There, however, may be causal relationship between the two conditions.     

食管癌术后乳糜胸治疗及预防

目的： 讨论食管癌术后乳糜胸的治疗及预防。方法：１９９０ 年７ 月～１９９８ 年１２ 月分别对４ 例术后乳糜胸及１６７ 例食管癌术中行低位结扎胸导管术。结果：４ 例乳糜胸全部治愈,１６７ 例均未并发乳糜胸。结论： 预防性结扎胸导管术可有效降低乳糜胸发生率     

A review of traumatic chylothorax

BackgroundTraumatic chylothorax is an extremely rare complication following thoracic trauma or surgery. The aetiology of traumatic chylothorax is dominated by iatrogenic causes, with a reported incidence of 0.5% to 3% following oesophageal surgery. The mortality from a chylothorax post oesophagectomy can be as high as 50%. Iatrogenic causes in total account for approximately 80% of traumatic causes. Non-iatrogenic traumatic chylothoraces are exceedingly uncommon. The complication rate in blunt thoracic trauma is said to be 0.2% to 3%, whilst in penetrating trauma, the incidence is 0.9% to 1.3%. If recognised late or managed poorly, this condition has devastating complications, including nutritional depletion, physiological derangements and immunological depression. This review revisits the anatomy of the thoracic duct, the physiology of chyle production and associated dynamics as well as the current management strategies available for traumatic chylothorax.MethodsA review of selected English literature from 1980 to 2015 was undertaken. Databases used included Pubmed, Cochrane and Science Direct. Publications of both traumatic and postoperative chylothorax were reviewed. The appropriate literature was analysed by comparing and contrasting content with particular emphasis on management issues. Keywords and phrases were used to achieve a streamlined and focused review of the topic.ConclusionChylothorax remains a rare complication of thoracic surgery and thoracic trauma. The potential complications can result in serious morbidity and can even be fatal. Understanding the pathophysiology of a chyle leak underpins the principles of management. The overall success of conservative management ranges from 20% to 80%. The timing of surgical intervention remains debatable. Benefits of early surgical intervention are clearly documented, resulting in a gradual shift toward early operative treatment with reports suggesting thoracic duct ligation yielding a 90% success rate. Technological advances such as thoracic duct embolisation, with a potential success rate of 90%, and thoracoscopic interventions are attractive alternatives to orthodox open surgery.     

MR Lymphangiography for Focal Disruption of the Thoracic Duct in Chylothorax of an Infant: a Case Report and Literature Review

Chylothorax is a rare cause of pleural effusion in children, and it is usually difficult to identify the location of chyle leakage due to the small size of the thoracic duct in children. Herein we report an infant case with chylothorax whose leakage of the thoracic duct was successfully located by magnetic resonance lymphangiography (MRL) using pre-contrast MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and gadodiamide-enhanced spectral presaturation inversion recovery (SPIR) T1-weighted imaging, which demonstrate the imaging method is easy and effective for detecting the focal disruption of the thoracic duct in children with chylothorax and younger than 8 months old.     

Minimally invasive management of chylous fistula after esophagectomy

Chyle leak is an unwelcome complication of esophagectomy that is associated with a high mortality. The diagnosis of this condition may be difficult or delayed and requires a high index of suspicion. Management varies from conservative treatment with drainage, intravenous nutrition, treatment and prevention of septic complications, to re-operation, either by thoracotomy or laparotomy to control the fistula. To reduce the mortality, early surgical intervention is advised and a minimally invasive approach has recently been reported in several cases. From June 2002 through August 2005 we have used video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery to diagnose and treat chyle fistulas from 6/129 (5%) patients who underwent esophagectomy for resectable carcinoma of the esophagus or high-grade dysplasia. The fistula was successfully controlled in 5/6 cases by direct thoracoscopic application of a suture, clips or fibrin glue. One patient required a laparotomy and ligation of the cysterna chyli after thoracoscopy failed to identify an intrathoracic source of the leak. An early minimally invasive approach can be safely and effectively applied to the diagnosis and management of post-esophagectomy chylous fistula in the majority of cases. Open surgery may be appropriate where minimally invasive approaches fail or where the availability of such skills is limited.     

新生儿先天性乳糜胸的临床及预后影响因素分析

目的 探讨新生儿先天性乳糜胸（CC）的临床特点及影响其预后的高危因素。方法 回顾性分析2012年1月至2022年5月在新生儿重症监护室收治的CC患儿的临床资料。结果 最终纳入CC患儿60例,男36例、女24例,胎龄36.7(34.7～38.8)周,出生体重3 160.0(2 755.0～3 645.0)g,早产儿31例,足月儿29例。产前诊断胸腔积液52例,宫内治疗13例,出生时窒息31例,在产房插管27例,复苏时胸腔穿刺8例,双侧胸腔积液30例,胎儿水肿19例,低蛋白血症29例,合并先天性乳糜腹14例,合并先心/染色体异常12例。与足月儿组相比,早产儿组男性比例较低,出生体重较轻,宫内治疗、胎儿水肿、窒息、在产房插管、机械通气、双侧胸腔积液、白蛋白<30 g/L、合并先天性乳糜腹以及死亡比例均较高,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。存活组49例,死亡组11例,死亡患儿均于生后1周内死于呼吸衰竭。二分类logistic回归分析发现,胎儿水肿是CC新生儿早期死亡的独立危险因素（P<0.05）。所有病例行保守治疗,随访存活患儿,3例失访,1例复发,余45例情况良好。结论 ...     

胸外科术后乳糜胸诊治分析

目的总结胸外科术后乳糜胸的诊治经验。方法分析我院31例胸外科术后发生乳糜胸的临床资料。结果出现乳糜胸的时间大多数为术后2～10d，26例经保守治疗治愈，5例再次开胸，其中4例治愈，1例术后仍再发，继续保守治疗治愈。结论胸外科术后乳糜胸大多数可经保守治疗治愈，再次开胸作为补救，若高度怀疑损伤胸导管及其主要分支应预防性束状盲扎胸导管。     

Primary pulmonary lymphangiectasis in a premature infant: resolution following intensive care

Primary pulmonary lymphangiectasis is a rare disease, often described as fatal within the neonatal period. We report on an infant who developed severe bilateral chylous pleural effusions with computed tomography (CT) features of pulmonary lymphangiectasis. She recovered spontaneously with supportive treatment only. We discuss aspects of her intensive care which might have contributed to the good outcome, and conclude that modern intensive care may allow spontaneous recovery in conditions described in the literature as having a very poor outcome.     

Severe primary pulmonary lymphangiectasis in a premature infant: Management and follow up to early childhood

Primary pulmonary lymphangiectasis (PPL) is a rare congenital developmental abnormality of the lung with a generally poor prognosis. Only a limited number of patients with neonatal‐onset PPL have been reported to survive. We present the case of a male preterm infant (gestational age 34 weeks 6 days) with histologically confirmed PPL, complicated by hydrops fetalis, bilateral hydrothorax (treated in utero with pleuro‐amniotic shunts), and immediate respiratory distress at birth. He survived after extensive neonatal intensive care therapy and was discharged home at the age of 7 months. At last follow up he was 3 years 7 months old, still requiring assisted ventilation via tracheostomy, having recurrent episodes of wheezing and had mild global developmental delay. This case demonstrates that survival beyond the neonatal period is possible even with severe PPL but long‐term morbidity may be relevant, and multidisciplinary management and close follow up are essential.