Lymphatic Drainage Disorders Program

The Lymphatic Drainage Disorders Program at Lurie Children’s offers an outstanding multidisciplinary care team and state-of-the-art facilities to provide the best care for your child: 

• Expert Care Team: 
  • Pediatric cardiologists – board certified pediatricians with subspecialty certification in Pediatric Cardiology by the American Board of Pediatrics 
  • Pediatric interventional radiologists – board certified interventional radiologists with an additional subspecialty in Pediatric Radiology by the American Board of Radiology 
  • Congenital cardiac surgeons – board certified in Thoracic Surgery with additional certification in Congenital Cardiac Surgery by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery 
  • Pediatric cardiac anesthesia team – board certified anesthesiologists with additional certification in pediatric anesthesia by the American Board of Anesthesia and additional training in pediatric cardiac anesthesia 

• State-of-the-Art Facilities: 
  • Specialized magnetic imaging capability for contrast MR lymphangiography, which provides images of the anatomy and flow of the lymphatic system 
  • Echocardiography laboratory certified for fetal, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiographic studies (by Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories - ICAEL) 
  • Interventional Radiology suites to carry out lymphatic leak embolization 
  • Fully-equipped cardiac diagnostic interventional catheterization laboratories 
  • Two dedicated pediatric cardiac surgical operating rooms 
  • 44-bed Regenstein Cardiac Care Unit with remote monitoring capability 

• Chylothorax: The accumulation of lymphatic fluid in the layers of the pleura outside the lungs. The pleura are membranes that line the lungs and the inside of the chest cavity. 
• Chylous pericardium: The accumulation of lymphatic fluid which leaks into the space around the heart. This fluid buildup can press on the heart and lead to poor heart function. 
• Plastic bronchitis: The accumulation of lymphatic fluid in the airways. The fluid builds and forms rubbery plugs (known as casts), which block the airways and make it difficult to breathe. 
• Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE): The reversal of the usual flow of lymphatic drainage in the intestines, especially in the duodenum (part of the small intestine), leading to protein loss into the intestine.  Instead of draining waste products from the intestine into the lymph channels, the lymph channels drain protein-laden fluid into the intestine. This fluid loss results in abnormally low levels of albumin (a protein) and other cells.  PLE can result in diarrhea, peripheral edema (fluid accumulation in legs), ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen), and pleural (lining of lung) effusions, among other conditions. 

A pediatric cardiologist will identify the problem through physical examination, imaging studies, and/or blood tests. If medical therapies are not indicated, they will refer you to an interventional radiologist, interventional cardiologist or cardiovascular surgeon.  

For those patients with cardiac-related lymphatic disorders, our multi-disciplinary team of pediatric cardiologists, imaging interventionists, and cardiovascular surgeons review each case individually to determine the optimal management of the disorder. 

Joe Baker, MD, Attending Physician of Interventional Radiology, is an experienced interventional radiologist capable of imaging and embolizing (blocking) lymphatic vessel leaks. David S. Winlaw, MBBS, MD, FRACS, Division Head of Cardiovascular Surgery, heads a team of cardiovascular surgeons experienced in thoracic duct ligation, should that be the intervention determined to be best for your child’s lymphatic disorder.