[Acute chyloperitoneum]

A patient presenting with the symptomatology of an appendicular syndrome was later diagnosed as having an acute chylous ascites. The etiology was an acute edematous pancreatitis, the anatomy of the lymphatic pathways with the proximity of the pancreas explaining this etiology, as well as the possibility of a pancreatitis secondary to obstruction of the thoracic duct. The early post-operative clinical course was marked by an acute occlusion of small intestine on the 15th day, related to the adherence potency of the chyle. A general review of the acute chylous ascites syndrome showed the prognosis to be generally favorable, with a mortality of 4%, in contrast to the 40% mortality reported for the chronic chylous ascites of adults.