A chylothorax in a young woman: The difficulties of medical management

Abstract

Abstract Lymphangioleiomyomatosis is a rare pulmonary disease affecting women of childbearing age. Whilst chylothorax is a well‐recognized complication of the condition, management strategies aren't well‐defined, have low success rates and are often only available at tertiary or specialist centres. We describe a case of a young woman referred to pleural clinic with a chylous effusion found to be secondary to lymphangioleiomyomatosis. Initial medical management was unsuccessful and recurrent drainages caused significant complications. Remission was ultimately achieved with a combination of mTOR inhibitors and interventional radiology techniques.

Keywords

• chylothorax
• lymphangiogram
• lymphangioleiomyomatosis
• pleural effusion