Primary chylopericardium treated by surgery: Report of two cases

Primary chylopericardium is a rare condition. The etiology and the treatment remain unclear. We report two cases of primary chylopericardium successfully treated by surgery. Both cases were asymptomatic young women and were found to have cardiomegaly on chest X-ray at a routine annual health examination. An echocardiography demonstrated massive pericardial effusion and chylous fluid was obtained with pericardiocentesis. Lymphoscintigraphy demonstrated abnormal communication between the pericardial sac and the thoracic duct. Because of reaccumulation of chylous pericardial effusion after conservative treatment, we performed surgical ligation of thoracic duct and partial pericardectomy by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in one case and by thoracotomy in another case. After surgery, both patients are doing well without recurrence of pericardial effusion. Surgical treatment including VATS is effective and should be performed in case of primary chylopericardium.