Has anyone ever seen a chyle leak from a port? I recently deaccessed an implanted port and a chalk-white fluid escaped through the puncture site after I removed the needle. It was streaked (not tinged) with blood. I was able to express another 2-3ml. No pain, no swelling, no redness. This was the second time it happened. Of course I sent the pt for evaluation with Interventional Radiology who concluded nothing was wrong, but when it happened a second time, three weeks later...
Just curious.
It can happen especially with any CVAD inserted on the left subclavian side. The thoracic duct that brings all lymph fluid into the blood stream joins the subclavian vein on the left side. The way to determine if it is truly chyle is to do a glucose test. Chyle will be very high glucose. Sometimes it is difficult to determine if it is purulent drainage vs chyle. I have a picture of this coming from an implanted port access site, not the vein entrance site but the needle puncture site. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861