Kyobu geka. The Japanese journal of thoracic surgery
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Traumatic chylothorax is classified as follows; postoperative and nonsurgical. We have encountered 5 cases of traumatic chylothorax, 2 after resection of lung cancer, 2 after repair of congenital heart disease and 1 after blunt chest injury. The incidence of this complication was 0.2% after surgery for cardiovascular diseases, and 0.6% for lung cancer in our institute. ⋯ We choose conservative therapy at first which is generally recommended. When chylous discharge continues, conservative therapy should be carried out when new operative skin incision is necessary for the treatment of chylothorax. Operative therapy is desirable in cases with pulmonary resection which makes dead space in pleural cavity.