Acute chylous ascites with elephantiasis (lymphedema) is rare. This is the fifth case of this congenital syndrome to be recorded. There have been no reported cases of concurrent lymphedema and chylous ascites developing in older patients.
Report of Case
The patient was born to normal, healthy parents on March 28, 1952, after an uneventful pregnancy and spontaneous delivery. Birth weight was 8 lb. 4 oz. At the time of delivery, she had swelling of her entire left leg and right arm and a hemangioma lateral to her right eye. She was jaundiced for four days after birth. There was no family history of ascites, lymphedema, or hemangiomas. Two children born later have been completely normal.Abdominal distention developed slowly and was not marked at her first hospitalization, when she was 5 months old. At that time, however, she had edema of the face, the right arm and hand, the left