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Introduction
Hyperhidrosis (HH) is a pathological condition of excessive secretion of the eccrine sweat glands
in amounts greater than that required for physiological needs. HH occurs more commonly in
women and is usually bilateral and symmetrical. It often begins in early childhood and usually
persists throughout adulthood, resulting in severe occupational, emotional, and social disabilities
(1). Although the prevalence of HH is thought to be low, it has been reported as 2.8% in the United
States and 4.9% in China (2). Various treatment methods have been recommended for HH. Gener-
ally, the preferred treatment method varies according to the clinician. The success and compli-
ance rates of medical treatments are significantly lower, particularly in patients with life-long or
moderate to severe HH. Permanent management can be achieved through invasive techniques
such as sympathectomy. Except for one series, no mortality has been reported, with a morbidity
not exceeding 5%, in the English literature. Pneumothorax is the most common complication (2%
of patients; a total of 25%-30% exclusively require thoracic drainage), followed by subcutaneous
emphysema (1%) and pleural effusion (0.3%-0.5%), which rarely requires drainage. Solitary cases
of complications, such as chylothorax, hemopericardium, lesions of the superior intercostal vein,
pulmonary edema, or brachial plexus lesions, have been reported in a previous study (1). Herein,
we describe a patient who was treated with autologous blood pleurodesis for ductus thoracicus
injury after endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy.
Case Report
A 23-year-old woman was admitted to our clinic with a complaint of bilateral pronounced
axillary HH, minimal sweating of the hands, and bruising. She underwent bilateral thoracic
sympathectomy at levels T3 and T4 via a diathermy hook inserted through the thoracoscope
(Karl Storz Hopkins 0° 26034 AA Laparoscope Tuttlingen,Germany). Electrocautery ablation of
the accessory nerve and Kuntz branches was composed of approximately 3 cm to prevent recur-
rence at the level of the third rib. Chest X-ray was obtained in the recovery room after surgery
to verify full expansion of the lung (Figure 1). Then, the patient was transferred to the intensive
care unit (ICU). Oral nutrition was initiated 6 h after surgery. Four hours after initiating enteral
feeding, a leakage of 100 mL milky fluid was observed in the left chest tube. In the biochemical
assessment of the pleural drainage fluid, 12 mg/dL of cholesterol and 310 mg/dL of triglyceride
were noted. The patient was diagnosed with postoperative chylothorax. Enteral feeding was ter-
minated. She was treated with total parenteral nutrition via a central venous catheter. The right
pleural drain was removed after the first postoperative day. Daily pleural drainage was 60 mL
on the second day and 40 mL on the third day. A follow-up of blood chemistry and electrolyte
Chylothorax: A Rare Complication of Endoscopic Thoracic
Sympathectomy
Hyperhidrosis (HH) is a pathological condition of excessive secretion of the eccrine sweat glands in amounts greater than that required for
physiological needs. Herein, we describe a patient who was treated with autologous blood pleurodesis for ductus thoracicus injury after endos-
copic thoracic sympathectomy. A 23-year-old woman was admitted to our clinic with a complaint of bilateral pronounced axillary HH, minimal
sweating of the hands, and bruising. She underwent bilateral thoracic sympathectomy at levels T3 and T4. A milky fluid was observed in the left
chest tube and was diagnosed as chylothorax. No similar case of postoperative chylothorax treated with autologous blood pleurodesis has been
found in the English literature. According to anatomical variations, the ductus thoracicus is susceptible to injury even in the hands of an experi-
enced surgeon. In case an injury has occurred shortly after thoracic sympathectomy, autologous blood pleurodesis is an effective treatment for
chylothorax. This procedure is safe and cheap and can be easily performed at the bedside.
Keywords: Chylothorax, thoracic, sympathectomy, pleurodesis, autologous blood
Abstract
This study was presented in the American College
of Chest Physicians CHEST Congress 26-31 October
2013, Chicago, USA.
ORCID IDs of all authors: S0000-0001-9963-5724;
H.E. 0000-0002-6569-8193; T.T.B. 0000-0002-
5705-8452; S.G.Ç. 0000-0002-6569-8193.
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Health Sciences
University Konya Training and Research Hospital,
Konya, Turkey.
2Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Health
Sciences University Konya Training and Research
Hospital, Konya, Turkey.
3Emergency and First Aid Program, Vocational
School of Health Services KTO Karatay University,
Konya, Turkey.
Address for Correspondence:
Mustafa Çalık
E-mail: drmcalik@hotmail.com
Received: 16.04.2017
Accepted: 28.10.2017
© Copyright 2018 by Available online at
istanbulmedicaljournal.org
Case Report
İstanbul Med J 2018; 19: 167-9
DOI: 10.5152/imj.2018.63308
Mustafa Çalık1 , Hıdır Esme1 , Taha Tahir Bekçi2 , Saniye Göknil Çalık3
levels was also conducted. Pleurodesis was achieved via a chest
tube on the fourth day of hospitalization when drainage ceased.
Then, 50 mL of autologous blood was obtained on the fourth day
of admission. Immediately, blood extracted from the patient was
injected into the pleural space through the chest tube. Then, it
was removed on the same day. The patient was discharged on the
seventh day of admission without complications. At 24 months
of follow-up, she had no further recurrence of effusion. Written
informed consent was obtained from the patient to participate
in the present study.
Discussion
Although benign in nature, HH might cause significant social,
emotional, and professional disabilities in patients who gener-
ally cannot be adequately treated with conservative methods
(3). Conservative methods are generally used only for patients
with mild symptoms. Thus, the majority of patients with mild
to severe HH will sooner or later be recommended for surgery
as precise treatment. There is no doubt that thoracoscopic sym-
pathetic surgery has provided a highly reliable solution for HH.
This has been shown in a clinical report of successful control of
symptoms by surgery in more than 95% of patients (2). The over-
all rate of complications is less than 5%, and these are minor
complications. Chylothorax is an extremely uncommon compli-
cation due to thoracoscopic sympathectomy but continues to be
a formidable clinical problem of any thoracic surgical practice. In
the English literature, eight cases of chylothorax after sympathec-
tomy have been reported, one via transaxillary sympathectomy
and seven via thoracoscopy.
Chylothorax is the accumulation of lymphatic fluid in the pleural
cavity due to ductus thoracicus and damage to the lymphatic ves-
sels. Postoperative chylothorax that develops after thoracic sympa-
thectomy is a rare case and generally can be observed in 0.5%-2.5%
of patients after cardiac and thoracic surgeries. Traditional conser-
vative management of chylothorax has a failure rate of up to 48%,
especially in high-output fistulae (4). Chylothorax was observed in
our patient. The route of the thoracic duct varies in 40%-60% of
individuals. Anatomical variations make it more susceptible to ac-
cidental injury during thoracic surgery. Its route is anomalous and
unpredictable (5).
Typically, postoperative chylothorax occurs 2 to 10 days after sur-
gery. However, in our case, it occurred in a much shorter time, i.e.,
only 4 h. The most common symptoms in patients with chylotho-
rax are shortness of breath and cough. None of these symptoms
were exhibited in our patient. However, she had chest pain, which
is rarely observed in patients with chylothorax.
Current treatments of chylothorax include conservative, surgi-
cal, and radiation therapies. The management of postsurgical
chylothorax is guided by a set of principles rather than a strict
algorithm. These principles include efficient drainage of the ef-
fusion, cessation of flow through the thoracic duct, and oblit-
eration of the pleural space (6). Pleural obliteration is also used
to prevent prolonged air leakage and fluid accumulation in the
pleural space. A wide variety of sclerosing agents are used for
this procedure. Among these, autologous blood, which is less
toxic and injurious to the lung tissue than traditional chemi-
cal substances, has been used since 1987 in order to close the
pleural space and prevent air leaks. Although the underlying
mechanism is controversial and there is no standardized admin-
istration amount and method, usually, numerous case reports,
series, and retrospective or prospective studies have reported
successful results (7). Pleurodesis compared with surgery has
significantly increased the success rate, decreased the ICU stay
and need for surgery, and reduced the overall hospital stay as-
sociated with decreased mortality (8, 9). Its success has encour-
aged us. We believe that it can be used for the treatment of
chylothorax because it is easy to apply, painless, comfortable,
fast, and cheap, without requiring analgesia or sedation during
pleurodesis. We easily administered pleurodesis, and the chest
tube was clamped for 2 h at the bedside without any complica-
tions (7-9). The first treatment option is surgery only for a small
group of patients. Conservative treatments that should always
be kept in mind are preferred by the majority of patients and
successful in only half of the cases. Although the criteria for con-
servative treatment of thoracic duct injury has been described in
the literature, the choice for the most appropriate treatment for
patients is based on the clinician’s experience and the patient’s
incomparable condition (6).
Conclusion
No similar case of postoperative chylothorax treated with pleurode-
sis using autologous blood has been found in the English litera-
ture. According to anatomical variations, the ductus thoracicus is
susceptible to injury even in the hands of an experienced surgeon.
In case an injury has occurred shortly after thoracic sympathec-
tomy, autologous blood pleurodesis is an effective treatment for
chylothorax. This procedure is safe and cheap and can be easily
performed at the bedside.
Informed Consent: Written informed consent was obtained from patient
who participated in this study.
Peer-review: Externally peer-reviewed.
Figure 1. The patient's chest X-ray was obtained in the recovery room
after surgery to verify the full expansion of the lung (Chest tube was
indicated by white arrows)
İstanbul Med J 2018; 19: 167-9
168
Author Contributions: Concept - M.Ç., H.E., T.T.B., S.G.Ç.; Design - M.Ç.,
H.E., T.T.B., S.G.Ç.; Supervision - M.Ç., H.E., T.T.B., S.G.Ç.; Resource - M.Ç.,
H.E., T.T.B., S.G.Ç.; Materials - M.Ç., H.E., T.T.B., S.G.Ç.; Data Collection and/
or Processing - M.Ç., S.G.Ç. ; Analysis and/or Interpretation - M.Ç., S.G.Ç.;
Literature Search - M.Ç., S.G.Ç.; Writing - M.Ç., S.G.Ç.; Critical Reviews - M.Ç.,
S.G.Ç.
Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Financial Disclosure: The authors declared that this study has received no
financial support.
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Cite this article as: Çalık M, Esme H, Bekçi TT, Göknil Çalık
S. Chylothorax: A Rare Complication of Endoscopic Thoracic
Sympathectomy İstanbul Med J 2018; 19: 167-9.
Mustafa Çalık. Chylothorax: A Complication of Sympathectomy
169
