What is a Thoracic Catheter?

The thoracic catheter is a blood vessel whose function is to collect and guide lymph from the parts of the body below the diaphragm. In addition, the catheter collects lymph from the upper left side of the body. It drains into the venous system, especially at the junction of the left internal jugular and left subclavian veins.

1. Thoracic catheter drainage is key to normal body function

Many health problems can arise if there is a problem that interferes with the drainage process. This is because the drainage of lymphatic vessels helps to cleanse the cells of the body. When this process does not occur, the possibility of collecting lymph at the point of obstruction can lead to the development of malignant tumors in various locations throughout the upper left part of the body or below the diaphragm. Depending on the nature of the growth, individuals may experience a variety of symptoms, including fever, nausea, or difficulty breathing.

Thoracic catheter injuries are often the result of trauma in an accident or a by-product of a surgical procedure performed on the general area of the duct. In both cases, one or more sections of the pipe may collapse or become clogged, effectively shutting down the drainage process. When a blockage occurs, the condition is often called chylothorax. If left untreated, blockages can and often do cause additional health problems.

2. One way to manage thoracic catheter obstruction is to use thoracic catheter ligation

This is especially useful in cases of blockages due to previous surgery. In recent years, some physicians have recommended this therapy as a preventive measure against blockages that other procedures may cause. For example, ligation may be performed while the patient is undergoing esophagectomy, a maneuver that minimizes the potential for catheter blockage during recovery.

Ligation can also be used to drain a blocked thoracic catheter in the event of an accident. Many physicians recommend that the procedure be used if the thoracic catheter has not responded to other treatment modalities within 48 hours of the injury being diagnosed. If implemented early, the chances of serious health problems, including death, are significantly reduced.

Thoracic trauma can cause rupture of the thoracic catheter, resulting in leakage of chylous fluid into the mediastinum or pleural cavity, resulting in chylothorax. The most common thoracic catheter injury is surgical injury, such as esophageal cancer resection, cardiac major vascular surgery and posterior mediastinal tumor removal surgery, which may injure the thoracic catheter. Rupture of the thoracic catheter due to penetrating or occlusive injury is rare. The main symptoms of thoracic catheter injury are the loss of a large amount of chylous fluid, which leads to nutritional deficiency and body weakness. To confirm the diagnosis, the pleural fluid needs to be extracted by thoracentesis and sent for examination. The pleural fluid is clear after adding ether, or the orange-yellow fat globules are observed under the microscope after staining with Sudan III to confirm the diagnosis. Small thoracic catheter tears can be cured by conservative treatment, including puncture and drainage or thoracic catheter drainage, supplementation of protein nutrients, and promotion of pleural adhesions. If conservative treatment fails to reduce the amount of chylous fluid, thoracotomy should be performed to find the ruptured opening of the thoracic catheter to suture and ligate the upper and lower ends of the thoracic catheter.