Lymphoscintigraphy with single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography is useful for determining the site of chyle leakage after esophagectomy.

We describe the case of chylothorax after esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma. Lymphoscintigraphy with Tc-99m-human serum albumin-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid showed an abnormal radioisotope accumulation on the left side of the thoracic duct. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) combined with computed tomography (CT) revealed a hot spot directly on the site at, which the thoracic duct was ligated during surgery, which was the suggested site of chyle leakage. We emphasize that lymphoscintigraphy with SPECT/CT is very useful tool for accurately identifying the site of the chyle leakage.

Citation

Kohei Kotani, Joji Kawabe, Shigeaki Higashiyama, Susumu Shiomi. Lymphoscintigraphy with single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography is useful for determining the site of chyle leakage after esophagectomy. Indian journal of nuclear medicine : IJNM : the official journal of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, India. 2012 Jul;27(3):208-9

PMID: 23919082

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