Chylopericardium following right thoracotomy for lung cancer.

A 69-year-old woman underwent the right upper lobectomy, a partial resection of right segment 6 (rt S6) and removal of mediastinal lymph nodes (LN) for adenocarcinoma of the lung (rt S2), stage IIIA (T2N2M0). A chest computerized tomography (CT) taken one month after the operation revealed a pericardial effusion which was milky in color, and contained high levels of triglycerides (TG) of 615 mg/dl (serum, 217 mg/dl). Cytology of effusion for malignant cells was negative. The pericardial effusion gradually decreased in one month by restriction of her fat intake. Chylopericardium following right thoracotomy for lung cancer is extremely rare.