Chylopericardial Tamponade Masquerading as Hemopericardium An Uncommon Complication of Cardiac Surgery

Chylopericardial tamponade occurs very rarely after heart surgery. It may be theresult of lymphatic duct interruption during mammary artery harvest, division ofa large thymic remnant, or thrombosis of the subclavian or internal jugular veinby an indwelling central line. Although relatively straightforward when thepericardial aspirate has the usual milky appearance, the correct diagnosis caneasily be overlooked particularly early after surgery when the patient is stillfasting. We present a case report that illustrates the importance of sending allaspirates for chemical analysis irrespective of their color to arrive at thecorrect diagnosis and institute the appropriate medical management of this rarecondition.