Efficacy of nil per oral, total parenteral nutrition, milrinone and non-suction chest tube drainage-based management for chylothorax following pediatric cardiac surgery.

In a heterogenous cohort of post-cardiac surgical patients who developed chylothorax, our suggested new regime (nil per oral, parenteral nutrition, extended use of milrinone and no suction applied to the chest drains) contributed to reduce the frequency of massive chylothorax occurrence significantly.