Chylous peritonitis in children: case report and literature review.

Sixty-one cases of acute chylous peritonitis have been reported in all age groups in the surgical literature. Only seven of these cases have been noted in children. We report an additional case of a 7-year-old child who presented with acute peritoneal irritation and, at laparotomy, was found to have chyle in the peritoneal cavity and retroperitoneum. Proposed etiologies and management of this surgical entity are reviewed.