Chyle leak after axillary lymph node dissection

Abstract

Chyle leak following axillary lymph node clearance is a rare yet important complication.1–3 The current case is the first to be reported in the plastic surgery literature and chyle leak following mastectomy, axillary node clearance and immediate reconstruction with a deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap has not previously been described. We aim to highlight this complication and suggest factors that may have contributed in this case and the literature.