A Successful Case of Treatment by Lymphangiography for Chylothorax after Robotic Esophagectomy-A Case of Report

A 50-year-old woman diagnosed with clinical Stage Ⅲ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, received 2 cycles of docetaxel, cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil(DCF)therapy followed by robotic esophagectomy. In the 15th postoperative day, she suddenly had difficulty in breathing and a chest CT finding showed a large amount of right pleural effusion. Thoracocentesis yield a 1 L of chylous fluid confirmed diagnosis with postoperative chylothorax and conservative treatment was initiated. However, chylothorax was not improved. Therefore, a lipiodol lymphangiography from the inguinal lymph node was performed at the 20th postoperative day. Although the site of leakage could not identify, amount of drained pleural effusion was gradually decreased after lymphangiography, and drain was decannulated in the 28th postoperative day. Lipiodol lymphangiography may be a useful modality for both diagnosis and treatment for chylothorax after esophagectomy.