title: Superior vena cava syndrome caused by encircling soft tissue.
abstract: Superior vena cava syndrome can occur from benign conditions that might not alter life expectancy. Here we present a case of a superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction caused by soft tissue encircling the SVC, which was strongly suspected of being an unusual focal type of fibrosing mediastinitis. A 39-year-old man with no prior medical history presented with a four-week history of facial plethora, headache and dilated veins of the neck with a dark purple color change on the anterior chest wall. Radiology examinations, including venography, and computed tomography with a 3-dimensional volume-rendering image of the chest, had revealed severe narrowing of the SVC due to tiny encircling soft tissue and collateral vessels. A total occlusion of the SVC occurred as a result of a thrombus that developed within 1 day after the diagnostic SVC angiogram. The patient underwent stent deployment three days after the administration of thrombolytic therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine Inha University, Incheon, Korea. kdhmd@korea.com
authors.forename: Dae Hyeok
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yong Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Gi Chang
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: In Sun
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kwan
authors.forename: Keum Soo
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Woo Hyung
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015607:Stents; D013479:Superior Vena Cava Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents