[Idopathic Chylothorax: usefulness of aeti ologic survey and the follow-up]

ABSTRACT

Chylothorax is an uncommon condition. It's characterized by the presence of chyle in the pleura. The most common causes are malignancy and trauma. When an underlying cause is excluded, the chylothorax is called idiopathic. We report a case of a 68 aged woman, admitted for abundant chylothorax. Thoraco-abdominal computed tomography. magnetic reso-nance imaging of the chest and thoracotomy showed no lesion of the lymphatic duct. Fibrothorax has developed after pleurodesis. Stable clinical and radiological condition was noticed during 3 years. We discuss the difficulty in the exclu-sion of a malignancy and the necessity of the follow up for these patients