Superior vena cava syndrome is a common complication of malignancy. The epidemiology, presentation, and diagnostic evaluation of patients presenting with the syndrome are reviewed. Management options including chemotherapy and radiation therapy and the role of endovascular stents are discussed along with the evidence for each of the therapeutic options.

It is uncommon for thyroid cancer to present with superior vena cava syndrome. Obstruction of superior vena cava can develop as a result of intrinsic and extrinsic spread of the thyroid cancer. The usual presentation of this disease entity is a neck mass with symptoms and signs suggestive of superior vena cava obstruction. Superior vena cava obstruction is commonly caused by lung cancer and lym...

Most of superior vena cava syndrome are caused by malignant tumors involving the mediastinum (usually lung cancer or lymphoma). However, iatrogenic cause has become more important since it has become common to utilize long-term central venous catheters for chemotherapy or hyperalimentation therapy. Although the cancer patients are also at relatively high risk, there are only few case reports of...

Superior vena cava syndrome is most often caused by lung carcinoma. Two cases are described in whom venous obstruction in the superior mediastinum was caused by local vascular fibrosis due to radiotherapy five and seven years earlier. The development of radiation injury to greater vessels is discussed, together with the possibilities for treatment of superior vena cava syndrome.

The superior vena cava syndrome is due to the increased venous pressure in the upper torso, neck and head, caused by the obstruction of the superior vena cava. Both external and internal factors cause obstruction (95% are malign causes), and the most severe manifestation is represented by cerebral edema that can even lead to coma. The diagnostic algorithm for the superior vena cava syndrome is ...

The superior left vena cava with the absent superior vena cava is a rare abnormality, especially when associated with total heart block. We report a case of a patient in which the presence of superior left vena cava and the absence of the superior vena cava was detected during the implantation of a pacemaker for the correction of a total heart block, which led us to use a different technique fo...

Left atrial reduction is a surgical technique that has been proposed for eliminating chronic atrial fibrillation associated with mitral valve disease. A potential complication of the technique is the unnoticed rotation of the heart while the left atrium is anastomosed. Such an event makes it impossible to reconstruct the superior vena cava, leading to superior vena cava syndrome due to the rota...

filling defects are often observed on 99mtc sulfur colloid liver scans. hot spots are much less frequently seen. superior vena cava syndrome is the most frequent cause of this finding. in this report 3 patients with s.v.c and budd - chiari syndrome with hot spot on liver scan are presented. mechanisms of scintigraphic patterns are reviewed.

Superior vena cava syndrome results in obstruction of the superior vena cava and commonly requires intervention. Stents are often used to increase the patency of the vena cava and to prevent reocclusion. The role of antithrombotic therapy and agents to use has been highly debated due to stent location, hematologic complications, and limited clinical evidence available on the topic. This comment...