Pediatr Radiol. 2025 Oct 2. doi: 10.1007/s00247-025-06412-1. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
A life-threatening chylothorax developed in a female neonate after corrective surgery of d-transposition of the great arteries complicated by extensive postoperative thrombosis of the superior vena cava distribution, including at the thoracic duct-venous junction. Emergent percutaneous catheter intervention for thrombus aspiration and transluminal angioplasty was required. Despite therapeutic heparinization, thrombosis persisted. Curative image-guided treatment was twofold: first, the occluded thoracic duct was punctured under ultrasound guidance; then, the thrombus at the thoracic duct-venous junction was mobilized using the Seldinger-technique. Additionally, a venous catheter was placed with the tip at the thoracic duct-venous junction, and local low-dose thrombolysis was administered. This case shows that it is possible to percutaneously access the thoracic duct by direct puncture in a neonate with ultrasound guidance.
PMID:41037148 | DOI:10.1007/s00247-025-06412-1
