Incidence, Management, and Outcomes of Chylothorax after Lung Transplantation: A Single-center Experience

Background The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and outcomes of chylothorax after lung transplantation. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of our institutional lung transplant registry of 504 adult transplantations done from 2001 to 2015 and identified seven patients (1.38%) with chylothorax. Electronic health records were then analyzed to determine demographics, indications for surgery, management, and outcomes. Survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Chylothorax presented in the first week in four (62.5%) patients, and approximately one month later in the remaining three. Nonsurgical management was initially attempted in all patients and succeeded in three (42.9%). Elective surgical ligation of the thoracic duct (LTD) was successful in two (66.7%) out of three patients in whom it was performed. One patient required emergent reoperation for clamshell thoracotomy dehiscence from severe chylothorax. Thoracic duct embolization was attempted but unsuccessful in two patients. Subsequently, one of these patients received a peritoneal-venous shunt and the other underwent LTD. Chylothorax permanently resolved in six patients (85.7%). There were no mortalities directly related to chylothorax. The median time to resolution was 11 days (range: 7-60). The mean survival in months for chylothorax patients was 29.2 (SE 3.1) and 78.2 (SE 2.9) for the remaining patients (p = 0.37). The median survival was not reached for the chylothorax group and was 71.8 months (95% CI: 58.0-83.9) for the rest. Conclusion Chylothorax is rare after lung transplantation but can lead to major comorbidities and prolonged hospital stay. In our experience, nonsurgical management was successful in up to 40% of patients. LTD should be considered in those who fail conservative management.