Intestinal lymphangiectasia and colonic polyps: surgical intervention.

A 36-mo-old boy with Milroy's Disease, intestinal lymphangiectasia, and an exudative enteropathy (EE), was shown to have four colonic polyps. A large adenomatous polyp was excised from the transverse colon in an effort to control his EE and hypoalbuminemia (1.95 g/dl). His clinical status then stabilized until age 50 mo when there was a marked exacerbation of his EE. Medical management resulted in a temporary stabilization of his condition. A partial resection (40 cm) of the visually worse affected jejunum was performed. There was no improvement in the EE as measured by 51Cr-tagged albumin study; however, his clinical response was dramatic. In the 10 mo since surgery, he has been well and has shown catchup in linear growth.