title: Bilateral chylothoraces without chyle leakage after left-sided neck dissection for thyroid cancer: report of two cases.
abstract: Bilateral chylothorax is a rare complication of neck dissection, but it is potentially serious and sometimes life threatening. Because of the rarity of chylothorax, surgeons are unfamiliar with its early signs, which allow a prompt diagnosis and effective management. Most cases reported in the literature were associated with a concurrent external chyle leakage, which occurred either during or after surgery. We report two cases of bilateral chylothoraces without concurrent external chyle leakage, which occurred after left-sided neck dissections for thyroid cancer. We treated both patients successfully with conservative management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, the Catholic University of Korea, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, 505 Banpo-Dong, Seocho-gu, 137-701 Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ja Seong
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Byung Joo
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Mi Ra
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Woo Chan
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jeong Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Seol
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D002913:Chyle; D002916:Chylothorax / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*