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Respiratory Disorders (Expert Forum)
fluid around lung
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fluid around lung
by sd granny, Jul 29, 2007 12:00AM
My one yr old grandson is hospitalized and has had 470cc of fluid removed from around his lung which had collapsed his lung and pushed his heart and trachea over. The doctors are perplexed and are hard pressed to find the reason. One avenue they are pursuing is something with a different formula and something they refer to kile(sp). Any other possible causes? We are afraid of a reoccurrance if we don't know a cause. There are no signs of infection and the only symptoms he had was very labored and rapid breathing. we have quite a bit of asthma in our family and other allergies and wonder if it might somehow be allery related. The family has house cats and could that be a cause? Any help would be much appreciated.
Doctor's Answer
by National Jewish, Aug 02, 2007 12:00AM
, Aug 02, 2007 12:00AM
Chylous effusions arise from leakage of chyle, which is a normal body fluid that is characteristically white and high in fat. When, for whatever reason, it escapes from a major lymphatic vessel, called the thoracic duct, it collects in the pleural space and is called a chylothorax. The most common cause of chylothorax is injury to the thoracic duct following corrective surgery of vascular/cardiac malformations followed by chest or neck trauma, neck hyperextension or less commonly, coughing, weight-bearing, and vomiting. Mortality from chylothorax outside the neonatal period is very low, and is usually a result of underlying congenital heart disease or trauma, rather than the chylothorax itself. Non-surgical or surgical trauma can cause this condition. When it is due to surgery, most often it’s surgery for congenital heart disease.
The overwhelming majority of cases like your grandson’s are due to trauma. All other causes are rare and in the purview of pediatric pulmonologists. You and his doctors should seek consultation with such a person at a university medical center or a major children's hospital. Finding, and then correcting, the cause of this leakage will require expertise, seldom found even in very good community hospitals.
Good luck.
The overwhelming majority of cases like your grandson’s are due to trauma. All other causes are rare and in the purview of pediatric pulmonologists. You and his doctors should seek consultation with such a person at a university medical center or a major children's hospital. Finding, and then correcting, the cause of this leakage will require expertise, seldom found even in very good community hospitals.
Good luck.
