Chyloperitoneum following treatment for advanced gynecologic malignancies.

BACKGROUND: Chyloperitoneum is an uncommon complication following retroperitoneal surgery. Blunt abdominal trauma, abdominal surgery, abdominal or pelvic radiation, cirrhosis, lymphoma, tuberculosis, and congenital defects of lacteal formation may also lead to chylous ascites. CASES: Two patients developed chylous ascites after treatment for gynecologic malignancies. One, who also received pelvic and abdominal radiation, developed chylous ascites 11 months after retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for advanced endometrial cancer. She was treated with a diet low in fat and high in medium-chain triglycerides, as well as with intravenous hyperalimentation. She had recurrences of chylous ascites, which responded to paracentesis and intravenous hyperalimentation. The second patient developed chylous ascites 2 months after retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for advanced fallopian tube cancer. She was treated with a medium-chain triglyceride diet, which resulted in resolution of her symptoms.
CONCLUSION: Chyloperitoneum is an uncommon complication following treatment for gynecologic malignancies. Our second case is the first reported in which retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for gynecologic malignancy resulted in chyloperitoneum. However, because gynecologic malignancies frequently metastasize to the periaortic lymph nodes, chylous ascites may be an important cause of morbidity following treatment.