Intermittent brachiocephalic vein obstruction secondary to a thymic cyst.
Mediastinal thymic cysts are usually asymptomatic and found incidentally on a routine chest roentgenogram. Rarely, they may cause symptoms of vascular obstruction. A 55-year-old woman presented with intermittent swelling in her left neck. The swelling was positional and was worse while supine and disappeared while upright. Evaluation revealed a thymic cyst causing extrinsic compression of the left brachiocephalic vein. The cyst was resected with complete resolution of the left neck swelling.
Miller
J S
JS
Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. jmiller@bcm.tmc.edu
LeMaire
S A
SA
Reardon
M J
MJ
Coselli
J S
JS
Espada
R
R
D016121:Brachiocephalic Veins; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007601:Jugular Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008476:Mediastinal Cyst / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D014689:Venous Insufficiency