• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.1 s.258
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• pp.68-71
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• 2006

We operated on a 41-year-old man using venous bypass shunt for superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome caused by mediastinal fibrosis. The patient had substantially high venous pressure and high risk of postoperative neurologic deficits. The collateral veins were deemed to be interrupted during the surgical reconstruction of SVC. Treatment included resection of the obstructed SVC and innominate vein and reconstruction with an autologous pericardial tube graft. During the operation, venous drainage from upper body was maintained with an extraluminal bypass shunt. The shunt was effective at prompt relief of venous hypertension, eliminating the time constraints, and preventing the postoperative complications.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.1 s.246
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• pp.67-71
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• 2005

The major etiology of superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is malignancy. Radiologic endovascular intervention is the treatment of choice for patients with SVC syndrome due to malignant disease, which is unresponsive to radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, it is not clear whether endovascular intervention can replace open surgery as the primary method of management of benign SVC syndrome. We report two cases of benign SVC syndrome resulting from dialysis catheters placed in the central veins. One patient underwent bypass surgery between innominate vein and right atrium by expanded polytetrafluoroethylene. Another patient had large thrombi in SVC and other central veins. We removed them under cardiopulmonary bypass to prevent pulmonary embolism, and SVC was repaired and augmented by autologous pericardium. Prompt symptomatic relief and angiographic improvements of collateral flow were achieved in both patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.235-238
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• 2002

Among the causes of SVC syndrome, intraluminal tumor, especially the leiomyosarcoma is very rare. We report a 39 year old female patient who had been suffering from headache and facial edema for 6 weeks before admission. On physical examination, facial edema and venous engorgement on upper extermities and upper chast wall were showed. The chest CT scan and SVC cavogram showed a long intraluminal mass lesion resulting in a near total obstruction of the SVC Surgery was performed through median sternotomy. For complete resection of the tumor and thrombus, we used partial and total CPB. The follow up SVC cavogram revealed no abnormality 14 months after the operation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.239-243
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• 2002

In this case, a 39 year-old man was admitted with Budd-Chiari syndrome associated with complete superior vena cava(SVC) obstruction causing general edema and hepatic failure. Conservative medical therapy was failed. And after the radiologist failed to invasive procedure of balloon dilatation, we attempted the inferior vena cava to right atrium bypass graft. Operation was done through median sternotomy and extended vertical oblique abdominal incision. A 24 mm Dacron tube was placed from the inferior vena cava just below the left renal vein to the right atrium without using the cardiopulmonary bypass pump. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful without signs of bleeding or any other complications. We used anticoagulants at the postoperative first day. At the postoperative 26th day, we performed abdominal Doppler sonography and we confirmed that the graft patency was good. The patient was discharged with SVC obstructive symptoms but we noticed relief of SVC obstructive symptoms in the course of follow-up.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.78-84
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• 2005

Purpose: The studied the effect of such variables as the symptom improvement rate, survival and prognostic factors on the treatment results of radiation therapy for Superior Vena Cava Syndrome (SVCS). Materials and Methods: From 1988 to 2003, seventy two patients with SVCS were treated with radiation therapy at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center. The patients' ages ranged from 10 to 83 years old with the median age being 61, and sixty four patients were male. For the causes of the SVCS, 64 patients had lung cancer, four had metastatic lung cancer, two had malignant lymphoma and two had thymoma. The radiotherapy was delivered with 6-MV X-rays and all patients received above 900 cGy up to 6,600 cGy, with the median dose being 4,000 cGy The follow-up periods were from 1 to 180 months with a median of 5.6 months. Results: The main clinical manifestations were dyspnea ($84.7\%$), facial edema ($81.9\%$), arm edema ($22.2\%$), neck vein distension ($25\%$), hoarseness ($12.5\%$) and facial plethora ($5.6\%$). Eighty percent of patients achieved excellent to good symptom improvement and $19.4\%$ experienced minimal improvement. The median survival period was 5.1 months, and overall survival rates were $17.7\%$ at 2 years (2YOS) and $14.8\%$ at five years (5YOS) for all the patients. The median survival period, the two and five year disease free survival rates were 4.3 months, $16.7\%$ and $13.4\%$ for the lung cancer patients, respectively. The total tumor dose was a statistically significant survival factor on the univariate analysis for the patients with lung cancer (2YSR; > 30 Gy, $25.6\%$, $\leq$ 30 Gy $6.7\%$, p<0.01). On the multivariated analysis, a higher total tumor dose (p<0.01) and younger age (p<0.05) were statistically significant factors of survival for the lung cancer patients. Patients with NSCLC showed better survival than did the patients with SCLC, but this was not statistically significant (p > 0.05), Conclusion: Radiation therapy for the patients with SVCS due to malignancy could be an effective treatment. We considered that radiation therapy above 30 Gy of the total tumor dose may improve survival for SVCS due to lung cancer.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.657-663
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• 2004

As a chronic multisystemic inflammatory disorder, Behçet's disease may manifest vascular, cardiac, neurological and gastrointestinal abnormalities. However, involvement of large veins, such as thrombosis of the superior or inferior vena cava, is a very rare complication. Herein, a case of superior vena cava syndrome, due to the thrombotic obstructions of the subclavian and brachiocephalic vein, is reported in a 27-year old woman with chronic Behçet's disease.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.368-371
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• 2004

Superior vena cava syndrome(SVCS) is most often encountered in patients with malignancies. Tuberculosis is nowadays an uncommon cause of SVCS. We report the case of a patient who presented with respiratory symptoms accompanied by SVCS due to tuberculous lymphadenitis. Treatment was instituted with isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol, and all symptoms disappeared. To our knowledge, no case of SVCS provoked by tuberculous lymphadenitis has been described previously in Korea.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.344-347
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• 1997

A 49-year-old female patient who had obstruction of superior vents cave(SVC) with SVC syndrome was successfully managed by bypass operation of superior vents cava with spiral vein graft. A composite spiral vein graft was placed between the right innominate vein and the right atrium to bypass the occluded SVC. The graft was constructed from the patient's own saphenous vein, which was split longitudinally and wrapped around a stent in spiral fashion and the edges of the vein were sutured together to form a large autogenous conduit. The patient was relieved o SVC obstructive symtoms and signs and discharged 21 days postoperatively without any complication.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.219-222
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• 1996

A 34-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of ascites, abdominal fullness. computed tomography and cavography revealed inferior vena cavil occlusion just above the hepatic vein and diagnosed as Budd-Chiari syndrome. conservative medical therapy failed to control the symptoms produced from both portal hypertension and versa caval stasis. Therefore, under extracorporeal circulation with moderate hypothermia and normal cardiac contraction, membranoto y and inferior vena casa venoplasty with Gore-tex (10mm) was performed. Postoperatively, physical examination revealed oral ulceration, subcutaneous thrombophlebitis, folliculitic lesions. uveitis And increased reactivity of the skin to needle punctures. 10 month later, superior vena ciiva obstruction symptom was found. Hehcet's disease was diagnosed.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.599-604
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• 2002

Acute or chronic aortic dissection may lead to the rupture, which is the major cause of death. A dissecting aneurysm of ascending aorta(Stanford type A dissection) can rupture into the superior vena cava producing a aortocaval fistula, which is rare, but has been reported mostly in the cases of abdominal aortic aneurysm. We report a case of 67-year-old man with type A chronic dissection and aortocaval fistula, presenting symptoms of superior vena syndrome. The preoperative diagnosis was composed of radiologic examinations, including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging angiography and aortography. The dissecting aneurysm was resected and replaced, and the aortocaval fistula was repaired under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. The details are described here.