• Maiko Tabu, Kazuhiro Imai, Jun-ichi Ogawa, Yoshihiro Minamiya, Satoru Yoshida, Kyo Hirayama, Takeyuki Sawano, and Ikuo Matsuzaki.
• Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Hachinohe City Hospital, 1 Tamukai aza Bishamontaira, Hachinohe, Aomori 031-8555, Japan.
• Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2011 Mar 1;59(3):205-8.

AbstractChylothorax is a relatively rare complication of thoracic surgery. Most instances of chylothorax after pulmonary resection are diagnosed within 3 days after surgery. Hence, late-onset chylothorax is rare. A 68-year-old woman underwent right lower lobectomy and mediastinal dissection for lung cancer. After discharge, the patient developed a dry cough, and chest radiography more than 3 months after surgery revealed a right-sided pleural effusion occupying more than half of the right hemithorax, which we diagnosed as late-onset chylothorax. Treatment comprised chest drainage, subcutaneous octreotide, and pleurodesis by injecting a preparation of OK-432. Follow-up chest radiography confirmed no reaccumulation of fluid. Three months later no recurrence of pleural effusion was detected. We report a rare case of postoperative late-onset chylothorax that proved difficult to treat.

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