Diagnostic imaging in spontaneous rupture of a thoracic duct cyst in the mediastinum.

Thoracic duct cysts in the mediastinum are extremely rare; they can give rise to chylothorax when they spontaneously rupture or after they are operated on. We present the case of an adult woman with a thoracic duct cyst in the mediastinum and chylothorax from its spontaneous rupture; to our knowledge, this phenomenon has not been specifically reported before. We describe the clinical and radiological findings, the therapeutic management, and the pathology findings, reviewing the literature for this entity.