Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgery options for cats with idiopathic chylothorax and outcomes
By Stockdale, Stephen L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2018·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparison of thoracic duct ligation plus subphrenic pericardiectomy with or without cisterna chyli ablation for treatment of idiopathic chylothorax in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 22 cats with idiopathic chylothorax, a condition where fluid builds up in the chest, underwent surgery to help treat their symptoms. Some cats had a simpler procedure involving thoracic duct ligation and pericardiectomy, while others had an additional step called cisterna chyli ablation. The simpler surgery took less time and had similar outcomes in terms of survival and recurrence of the fluid buildup compared to the more complex procedure. Overall, the cats that had the simpler surgery recovered well, with a median survival time of about 774 days.
People also search for: cat chylothorax treatment · cat fluid in chest surgery · idiopathic chylothorax recovery time
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To compare duration of surgery, recurrence rate, and survival time between cats with idiopathic chylothorax treated with thoracic duct ligation (TDL) plus subphrenic pericardiectomy (SPC) and those treated with TDL, SPC, and cisterna chyli ablation (CCA). DESIGN Retrospective case series with nested cohort study. ANIMALS 22 client-owned cats surgically treated for idiopathic chylothorax from 2009 through 2014. PROCEDURES Patient and surgery data were collected from the medical records. Recurrence of chylothorax and survival time were assessed by medical record review and client interview. Comparisons were made between cats treated with TDL plus SPC (TDL-SPC group) and those treated with TDL, SPC, and CCA (TDL-SPC-CCA group). RESULTS 15 cats were treated with TDL plus SPC, and 7 were treated with TDL, SPC, and CCA. Median duration of surgery was significantly briefer for the TDL-SPC group (80 minutes; range, 55 to 175 minutes) than for the TDL-SPC-CCA group (125 minutes; range, 105 to 205 minutes). Five cats (2 in the TDL-SPC group and 3 in the TDL-SPC-CCA group) had persistent pleural effusion 4 weeks after surgery. Chylothorax recurred in 2 cats (1/group). Median survival time in the TDL-SPC group was 774 days (range, 3 to 2,844 days) and in the TDL-SPC-CCA group was 380 days (range, 11 to 815 days); these values did not differ significantly. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Addition of CCA to the surgical treatment approach for cats with idiopathic chylothorax was associated with a significantly longer duration of surgery with no better outcome than achieved with TDL plus SPC alone.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29595394/