Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Laparoscopic Anatomic S7+S8d Resection Preserving Inferior Right Hepatic Vein and S6 with Right Hepatic Vein Transection
Published on: December 30, 2025
The difficult approach to neoplastic superior vena cava syndrome: surgical option
C Lequaglie1, B Conti, P P Brega-Massone
1Division of Thoracic Surgery, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy. lequaglie@istitutotumori.mi.it
Aim:
Superior vena cava syndrome is a dramatic event that can be cured in specialized centers.
Methods:
Between 1989 and 1995 6 patients with superior vena cava syndrome underwent surgical treatment for thoracic tumors. In all cases the vena was restricted by a neoplastic sleeve. A median sternotomy was performed in all cases. Two patients received an associated right anterolateral thoracotomy to obtain good surgical exposure for tumor resection and grafting. A 12 mm diameter polytetrafluoroethylene graft was inserted in all cases. The tumor resection was radical in 4 cases (2 thymic carcinomas, 2 malignant germ cell tumors) and palliative in 2 (1 non-small cell lung cancer and 1 mediastinal fibrosis).
Results:
We had no in-hospital mortality. All patients had immediate relief of obstruction after by-pass. Three patients were alive without disease at the end of follow-up (40-96 mo), one patient died of postoperative complications after 4 mo, 2 patients died of disease after 4 and 12 mo.
Conclusion:
PTFE by-pass graft for treatment of the obstructed SVC relieves SVC syndrome and has good medium term patency.
