[Pathogenesis, clinical application and therapy of chylothorax (author's transl)]

With the growth of traffic density and the spread of thoracic surgery, the clinical picture of the chylothorax can be observed with increasing frequency. Above all, the spontaneous or symptomatic chylothorax presents diagnostic problems, since, in about 70% of the cases, it only represents the concomitant symptom of a malignant tumor. Only after exact diagnostics and the exclusion of a malignant primary disease can one be content with the cursory diagnosis of an idiopathic chylothorax. However, this requires strict postoperative control and observation of the patients. Two patients are presented in whom the genesis of the chylothorax still remained unclear 3 1/2 years after the successful ligature of the thoracic duct.