Risk factors for chylothorax after esophagectomy

Chylothorax commonly occurs after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer and sometimes becomes refractory. When it cannot be cured by conservative treatments, surgery is usually considered (1). It can be associated with significant postoperative mortality, long hospital stay, and high economic burden (2,3). Thus, preventing postoperative chylothorax is one of the important clinical issues during esophagectomy.