Abstract
A case of chylorrhea arising after median sternotomy for treatment of atrial septal defect was reported. The patient was a 55-year-old male, who had visited our outpatient clinic with a complaint of edema in the bilateral lower legs in June 1990. Under a diagnosis of atrial septal defect, a patch closure was performed in November. On the 5th postoperative day, a full liquid diet was started. Two hours and a half after the food intake, the drainage from a tube inserted into the anterior mediastinum turned milky white. Chylorrhea was diagnosed. The patient was placed in N.P.O. and maintained by an intravenous hyperalimentation. Drainage of 250-350ml/day milky white fluid persisted until the 14th postoperative day, when a 5cm removal of the mediastinal tube resulted in dramatic decrease in drainage. Thus chylorrhea in this case was cured by conservative treatment.
