Management Of Chylous Ascites And Chylothorax. Report Of One Case

Chylous Ascites (CA) and chylothorax (CTx) are associated with obstruction, disruption or insufficiency of the lymphatic system. We report a 68-year-old male, with a history of alcoholic cirrhosis, who had recurrent events of CTx and CA. After a complete study, no other etiologies other than portal hypertension were found. Therapy with diuretics, nothing per mouth, parenteral feeding plus octreotide did not relieve symptoms. A transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) was successfully placed and pleural effusion subsided. This case shows that CA and CTx can be caused by portal hypertension and they may subside employing a multimodal management strategy.