Thomas Rajesh, Christopher D J, Roy Anil, Rose Anand, Chandy Sunil Thomas, Cherian Rekha Aley, Rima Jeeva
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, The Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
Respiration. 2005 Sep-Oct;72(5):546-8. doi: 10.1159/000087683.
A case of chylothorax following innominate vein thrombosis, which developed as a late complication of transvenous pacemaker implantation, is discussed. A 78-year-old man presented with a refractory left-sided pleural effusion, which turned out to be chylothorax. He had undergone a transvenous pacemaker implantation 6 years earlier for sick sinus syndrome. The aetiological workup showed occlusion of the innominate vein as the cause for the chylothorax. The chylothorax resolved following pleurodesis with talc slurry, and the innominate vein was recanalized by angioplasty. To our knowledge this is the first report of a case of this nature.
