Lymphorrhoea, a rare complication of thoracic outlet syndrome surgery

Abstract

The thoracic duct injury is an extremely rare entity and is sometimes seen in the surgery of the oesophagus or the heart. This injury can result in the formation of chylothorax e.g. chylous pleural effusion and can cause significant patient morbidity and mortality. Thoracic duct injury is an extremely rare complication of thoracic outlet syndrome surgery with only a few cases described in the literature so far. We present a 29-year-old female patient operated on for thoracic outlet syndrome with resection of the anterior scalene muscle on the left side. During the first postoperative day, the patient had more than 1.5 L of chyle leak drainage without signs of chylothorax. The patient was successfully treated conservatively with bed rest and total parenteral nutrition.

Keywords

• thoracic duct injury
• thoracic outlet syndrome
• lymphorrhoea