Cardiac tamponade secondary to chylopericardium following cardiac surgery: case report and review of the literature.

Only four instances of isolated chylopericardium following cardiac operation have been reported previously. We encountered this complication in a young patient who was operated on for infundibular pulmonary stenosis. The etiology appears to be related to a combination of intraoperative lymphatic injury and catheter-related subclavian vein thrombosis, the latter potentially elevating pressure within the thoracic duct and thereby resulting in an accumulation of chyle within the pericardial space. Therapy for this problem usually includes partial pericardiectomy with or without ligation of the thoracic duct.