Two Cases of Congenital Chylothorax Diagnosed by Prenatal Ultrasonography

Chung, Kyung Hyun; Cho, Wan; Han, Man Yong; Kim, Bo Kyung; Lee, Kyu Hyung

Abstract

Congenital chylothorax is a rare disorder and can be diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography recently. Most cases of congenital chylothorax were characterized by different clinical courses of respiratory distress. We describe two female cases with congenital chylothorax observed by ultra- sonography prenatally. In the first case, left-sided pleural effusion was noted by prenatal ultrasonography taken at 34 weeks of gestation, and then pleural fluid was extracted by intrauterine thoracentesis under sonography guidance. After birth, this patient was managed by TPN(total parentral nutrition) and intermittent thoracentesis without surgical treatment. But, pleural fluid was accumulated recurrently and respiratory distress was aggravated. At 15th hospital day, shock state was developed and patient died. In the second case, bilateral pleural effusion and ascites were noted by prenatal ultrasonography, and then patient was delivered immediately without intrauterine thoracentesis. After birth, the second case received conservative therapy including mechanical ventilation, TPN, intermittent thoracentesis and paracentesis. The patient was discharged with complete regression of chylothorax. We report the two cases with brief review of related literatures.