Endovascular therapy of superior vena cava syndrome: clinical case
Boza, C.; Mertens, R.; Valdés, F.; Kramer, A.; Mariné, L.; Vergara, J.
Revista Medica de Chile 129(4): 421-426
2001
ISSN/ISBN: 0034-9887 PMID: 11413995 Document Number: 529115
The treatment of superior vena cava syndrome is usually oriented to the underlying cause, that can be too slow in emergency cases. We report a 49 years old woman with a multiple myeloma that was admitted due to a superior vena cava syndrome caused by a central venous catheter used for chemotherapy for 20 weeks. She was successfully treated with thrombolysis, angioplasty and stent placement. The patient died 7 months later due to the underlying disease. Long term catheters are the responsible for 20 to 30% of superior vena cava syndromes. Endovascular treatment of the syndrome is successful in 60 to 100% of cases with a symptomatic relapse in 4 to 45% of patients.