Surgery diseases >>>> Chylothorax - treatment and prognosis
Chylothorax - treatment and prognosis.
Chylothorax is a process of expiration and accumulation of lymph in the pleural cavity with trauma to the thoracic lymphatic duct.
The cause of chylothorax may be a closed trauma in the chest area with internal tissue damage (shock, compression, injury as a result of fractures of skeletal structures), complication of medical procedures (thoracic surgery), birth trauma, penetrating wound into the chest, congenital anomaly of the thoracic lymph duct, blockage thoracic duct as a result of thrombus formation, compression by tumors.
Signs of chylothorax are manifested in impaired respiratory function (shortness of breath), signs of loss of fats, proteins and electrolytes (weight loss, hunger, dehydration, dry skin, general weakness), changes in the appearance of the chest (an increase in its volume, protrusion of the intercostal spaces).
Chylothorax is treated with surgical methods:
- Puncture of the pleural cavity is performed,
- Drain the perral cavity for lymph outflow,
- Intrapleural therapy with sclerosing substances is carried out to accelerate the processes of scarring of damaged tissues,
- Remove tumors that cause compression of the thoracic duct,
- At the same rate of lymph flow, the integrity of the thoracic duct is restored by bandaging it above the place of lymph flow.
The prognosis of chylothorax depends on the timeliness of the provision of surgical care to the victim and currently has a low mortality rate. With significant damage, chylothorax can be accompanied by a loss of lymph up to five liters per day, which leads to accelerated hypolipidemia (fat loss) and hypoproteinemia (protein loss), which can be the cause of death. In addition, the symptoms of respiratory and heart failure are increasing, which plays an important role in the outcome of the disease and requires the timely provision of medical care for chylothorax.
Read
Read
