Traumatic chylothorax and chyloperitoneum

Traumatic chylothorax and chyloperitoneum are rare. Effusion of the chyle into the pleural cavity occurs after severe injuries of the chest wall after pretentious surgical operation in the posterior mediastinum and after operations of the cardiovascular system. The authors recorded one observation after operation of a patent ductus arteriosus and controlled the situation by a conservative procedure. A traumatic chyloperitoneum develops typically after a minor or obscure injury. The pathological picture usually develops slowly, in rare instances it imitates an acute abdomen. The condition calls for laparotomy. Only in rare instances a fissure is detected in the posterior peritoneum and it is very difficult to detect the sites of injuries of lymphatic vessels. The authors treated three patients. All were operated, two were subjected to laparotomy twice. A relapsing chyloperitoneum was brought under control by hitherto non published surgical procedures: in one instance by communication of the abdomen with the posterior mediastinum, in the second case by ligature of the lymphatic vessels close to the vasa mesenterica cran. All patients recovered.