• T Tatar, D Kilic, M Ozkan, A Hatipoglu, and S Aslamaci.
• Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey.
• Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2011 Aug 1;59(5):298-301.

ObjectiveChylothorax is a rare complication of congenital cardiac surgery that can seriously impair the postoperative course unless treated properly. We present our treatment protocol and results with octreotide, a somatostatin analogue, in cases of chylothorax following congenital heart surgery.Material And MethodsBetween March 2006 and December 2009, 12 patients were treated for chylothorax following congenital cardiac surgery. Patients consisted of five females and seven males, with a mean age of 16.6 months (7 days - 36 months). Octreotide was administrated as a continuous intravenous infusion with a dosage of 4-10 µg/kg/h.ResultsChylothorax was successfully resolved in an average of 10.3 days (7-14 days) with octreotide infusion and a strict oral diet containing medium-chain triglycerides. At a mean follow-up of 9.4 months (1-35), all patients are doing well, without any recurrence of chylothorax.ConclusionOctreotide, a long-acting somatostatin analog, is an effective and safe agent for the treatment of postoperative chylothorax and warrants further investigation in a larger series with a greater number of patients.© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

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