Successful Treatment of Chylothorax by Bleomycin for Gorham's Disease

Abstract

A patient with idiopathic osteolysis in the thoracolumbar spine who developed severe chylothorax after a spinal operation is described. Irradiation and pleural adhesion therapies with minocycline and bleomycin were undertaken to control the chylothorax. Pleural adhesion therapy with bleomycin proved effective in treating this patient. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to detect the lesion. T1 weighted imaging was particularly useful in diagnosing the lesion and evaluating the degree of fusion in the spine.