Membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava associated with a myeloproliferative disorder: a clue to membrane formation?
Although membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava is frequently assumed to be a congenital defect, it has recently been hypothesized that it could be acquired and secondary to thrombosis at the ostium of hepatic veins. We report the case of a membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava responsible for isolated hepatomegaly in a young Frenchman. No known cause of thrombosis was found but spontaneous formation of erythroid colonies occurred on bone marrow cultures. This indicated the existence of a latent myeloproliferative disorder, a frequent cause of hepatic vein thrombosis. We suggest that this association of a membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava with a known, albeit often overlooked, cause of hepatic vein thrombosis provides strong support to the thrombosis theory of membrane formation.
Services d'Hépato-gastroentérologie et de Radiologie A, CHU Nord, Amiens, France.
F
F
Sevenet
H
H
Deramond
A
A
Hadengue
N
N
Casadevall
J
J
Delamarre
J P
JP
Capron
D000328:Adult; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009196:Myeloproliferative Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D011859:Radiography; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000150:complications; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging