Medical terminology - Chylothorax is the build up of chyle (kile), a milky white fluid, in the space surrounding the lungs. This makes it difficult to breath. Chyle is a normal fluid produced in the bowel when we digest food. It is a milky- colored when fatty food or drink is digested. The chyle fluid is carried around the body by lymphatic vessels. These are much like the network of blood vessels throughout your body. The lymphatic system carries fluid, fats, proteins, and infection fighting cells. The lungs are surrounded by several layers of protective lining called the pleura (plur-a) surround the lungs. Fluids can collect between the pleura layers( called the pleural space) A chylothorax happens when the lymphatic system starts leaking chyle fluid into the pleural space. The fluid pushes on the lung, making it hard to breathe.
If you have had heart or chest surgery, a lymph vessel may have been injured by surgical instruments or by muscles moving. So, this is what we are doing back at the hospital, we are dealing with a Chylothorax.