Chylous reflux into abdominal skin simulating lymphangioma circumscriptum in a patient with primary intestinal lymphangiectasia.

A 47-year-old man with primary intestinal lymphangiectasia developed chylous reflux into the skin of the right flank. The clinical appearance resembled lymphangioma circumscriptum with multiple dome-shaped vesicles filled with milky-white fluid which discharged on to surrounding skin. Backflow of chyle into the skin of the lower limb, perineum or external genitalia has been described as a rare finding in patients with primary lymphoedema but we believe this to be the first case involving the abdomen and the first case describing chylous reflux into the skin in a patient with intestinal lymphangiectasia.