[The treatment of traumatic chylothorax]

Traumatic chylothorax is classified as follows; postoperative and nonsurgical. We have encountered 5 cases of traumatic chylothorax, 2 after resection of lung cancer, 2 after repair of congenital heart disease and 1 after blunt chest injury. The incidence of this complication was 0.2% after surgery for cardiovascular diseases, and 0.6% for lung cancer in our institute. We carried out operation two cases successfully, one after resection for lung cancer and the other for Tetralogy of Fallot. The treatment should be determined according to the condition of the underlying diseases. We choose conservative therapy at first which is generally recommended. When chylous discharge continues, conservative therapy should be carried out when new operative skin incision is necessary for the treatment of chylothorax. Operative therapy is desirable in cases with pulmonary resection which makes dead space in pleural cavity.