Chemical Pleurodesis Could Exacerbate Lymphedema of Yellow Nail Syndrome

Chemical pleurodesis is sometimes performed for the management of intractable pleural effusion. We describe a woman with yellow nail syndrome (YNS), which is charac-terized by yellow discoloration of the nails, lymphedema, and pleural effusion. At the age of 43, she was hospitalized with edema of the lower limbs. Despite a number of medi-cal treatments, massive lymphedema of lower limbs devel-oped over a period of three years, resulting in skin cracks and subsequent infection, septicemia and multiple organ failure. At autopsy, abnormally dilated lymph and blood vessels were evident in soft tissue throughout the whole body. She had undergone chemical pleurodesis at 36 years of age for reduction of pleural effusion associated with YNS. Our case illustrates possible complication of chemical pleurodesis to YNS, which resulted in accumulation of lymph flow into the lower half of the body. ACTA MEDICA NAGASAKIENSIA 48: 71-72, 200