Study design: A description of the clinical picture of chylous leakage after spinal surgery.
Objectives: To present the clinical course of three cases of chylous leakage after spinal surgery and to discuss the pathogenesis of the disease.
Summary of background data: Chylous leakage is a rare complication after spinal surgery. It has been attributed to direct injury of a lymphatic trunk or one of its major tributaries by surgical maneuver.
Methods: Three cases of chylous leakage after circumferential thoracolumbar fusion for correction of kyphosis resulting from fracture were reported.
Results: All of the three cases were managed successfully; two cases of chyloretroperitoneum detected within 4 days after surgery were healed conservatively, but one case of chylothorax of which the onset was noticed 5 weeks after spinal surgery, required surgical ligation of the thoracic duct and pleurodesis.
Conclusion: Early detection of this disease is important for a good prognosis. Retroperitoneal drainage is necessary for the detection and management of chyloretroperitoneum. The pathogenesis and management of the chylous leakage are discussed in this report.