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.

Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is characterized by gradual, insidious compression or obstruction of the superior vena cava (SVC). The most common etiology of SVCS is related to malignancy such as bronchogenic CA and lymphoma. Other cases have a variety of causes such as chronic infections and chronic inflammations that involve the mediastinum. Spontaneous SVC thrombosis is also known to occ...

Although the most common form of the persistent left superior vena cava anomaly is usually clinically silent and often discovered incidentally, the risk of developing cyanosis, heart failure, and embolic cerebrovascular events is high among cases where the anomaly causes a right to left shunt. A rare case of persistent left superior vena cava draining into the left atrium through the superior l...

CONTEXT Venous thrombosis has been described in patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis. This is especially common in portal vein, splenic vein and superior mesenteric vein. To the best of our knowledge, involvement of superior vena cava and subclavian vessel due to pancreatitis has not been reported. CASE REPORT We present here a case of an adult male with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis...

Superior vena cava syndrome comprises various symptoms and signs resulting from the obstruction of the superior vena cava and resulting in reduced blood flow. Superior vena cava may occur secondary to a variety of conditions, but malignant etiologies are the most common. Usually, the diagnosis is based on a quite clear clinical presentation. Patient with acute presentation can develop life-thre...

A 66 year old woman presented in extremis with symptoms and clinical and radiological signs of simultaneous obstruction of superior vena cava and middle lobe of right lung secondary to compression by a massive benign anterior mediastinal cyst. Excision of the cyst at median sternotomy resulted in complete resolution of all symptoms. This report is unusual on account of a) the concomitant presen...

We report an interesting case of a man with a persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) with left azygos vein who underwent electrophysiological evaluation. Further evaluation revealed congenital dilated azygos vein, while a segment connecting the inferior vena cava (IVC) to the hepatic vein and right atrium was missing. The azygos vein drained into the superior vena cava, and the hepatic vein...

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 ...