Abstract:

Background: Chylothorax following congenital heart surgery is a potentially serious complication that requi-res early diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study is to review our experience with the treatment of chylothorax occurring in the early period after congenital heart surgery. Materials and Methods: The records of patients who developed postoperative chylothorax among 1215 patients who underwent surgery for congenital heart disease in our hospital between March 2017 and February 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Seventeen patients, 11 of whom were male, who developed postoperative chylothorax were inclu-ded in the study. The median age was 7.5 months, and the median body weight was 6.4 kilograms. Surgical procedures were aortic coarctation repair (five), Glenn operation (four), Tetralogy of Fallot repair (two), Fontan operation (one), atrioventricular canal defect repair (one), ventricular septal defect closure (one), vascular ring repair (one), patent ductus arteriosus ligation (one), and right modified Blalock-Taussig shunt in one patient. The median amount of lymphatic drainage was 4.6 ml/kg/day (2.3 to 8.1 ml/kg/day) and the median lymphatic drainage time was 16.5 days (5 to 38 days). After the chylous fluid drained, total parenteral nutrition and enteral medium-chain triglyceride diet were given. Octreotide was used additionally in 82.4% of the patients. After the chylous fluid drainage stopped, the patients were given a medium chain triglyceri-de diet for 6 weeks. One patient died due to sepsis. Conclusions: Chylothorax is a complication that causes morbidity after cardiac surgery. Morbidity can be reduced if a correct algorithm determined by the clinic is followed. Key Words: Chylothorax, Congenital heart defects, Heart surgery, Postoperative period