| Successful Surgical Treatment
of Retroperitoneal Lymphocele after an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Repair |
| Toshiyuki Kuwata |
Nobuoki Tabayashi |
Tetsuji Kawata |
| Takehisa Abe |
Takashi Ueda |
Shigeki Taniguchi |
(Third Department of Surgery, Nara Medical University,
Nara, Japan)
|
Retroperitoneal lymphocele is a
very rare complication of abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. An
abdominal aortic aneurysm 5cm in diameter was repaired with the
retroperitoneal approach in a 70-year-old man. On the 17th postoperative
day, mild abdominal distention was reported and a fever of 38℃
had developed. A computed tomography scan demonstrated massive
fluid collection in the retroperitoneal cavity. Total parenteral
nutrition with complete fasting was initiated. A pigtail catheter
was inserted into the cavity, and 1,000ml of milky, odorless,
alkaline and sterile fluid was drained. Subsequently, a retroperitoneal
lymphocele following abdominal aortic surgery was diagnosed.
The leaking lymph tract was ligated because the lymphocele did
not improve with long term drainage. Administration of ice cream
through the nasogastric tube was used to detect the leaking lymph
tract, and we ligated the leaking lymph tract completely. We
believe that surgical repair is an alternative strategy when
conservative treatments, i.e., fasting, intravenous hyperallimentation
and drainage are not effective.
Jpn. J. Cardiovasc. Surg. 31: 224-226（2002) |
|
