title: Recurrence of renal cell carcinoma with extensive vena caval thrombus three years after radical nephrectomy.
abstract: A 70-year-old man, who had undergone a radical nephrectomy for localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) three years ago, was recently evaluated for shortness of breath. During his work-up, a transesophageal echocardiogram and magnetic resonance imaging indicated an extensive vena caval thrombus originating from the renal vein stump. Successful vena caval thrombectomy with cardiopulmonary bypass confirmed that the thrombus was comprised of RCC. This is a rare type of RCC recurrence with an unusual timing (3 years after a nephrectomy), alerting the importance of strict follow-up on all patients even after complete surgical excision of all suspected tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, New York Medicel College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Finkelstein
authors.forename: Sophia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Drinis
authors.forename: Dean G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Tortorelis
authors.forename: Rocco J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Lafaro
authors.forename: Sensuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Konno
authors.forename: Muhammad S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Choudhury
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology*; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating; D009392:Nephrectomy; D017131:Thrombectomy; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000601:surgery