[Early reoperation in chylothorax after thoracic surgery]

Chylothorax is a rare complication of thoracic surgery. The chyle leak can induce serious metabolic and immunological disorders. The ideal treatment of chylothorax has not been clearly established, and opinions are still divided between medical treatment and early or late surgical reoperation after prolonged medical treatment. Out of a total of 1.750 thoracic operations performed at the Centre Chirurgical du Val d'Or over the last 10 years, six cases of chylothorax were reoperated early, an average of five days after the initial operation. The chyle leak was easy to localize in every case. The second operation was performed via the same initial incision. All six patients has an uneventful postoperative course and only one case had a persistent chyle leak which gradually resolved. The mean total hospital stay was 18 days. No systemic infections or deaths were recorded. Early reoperation avoids the complications of prolonged medical treatment, is technically easy and decreases the length of hospital stay.