Conservative management of postoperative chylothorax using somatostatin.

Chylothorax is a rare but serious postoperative complication of thoracic surgical procedures. We report the case of a 77-year-old man who underwent a coronary artery bypass procedure using a left internal mammary artery pedicle graft. A permanent pacemaker was required postoperatively. A persistent postoperative chylothorax developed necessitating continuous drainage and conservative management. Somatostatin was instituted when after 1 week this management failed to resolve the chylothorax. This led to rapid cessation of chyle production. Enteral feeding was reinstituted without complication and surgical intervention was avoided.