[Radionuclide cavography before and after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in Budd-Chiari web: case report]

A case of the Budd-Chiari syndrome due to a web of the hepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) is reported. A 54-year-old male with mild liver dysfunction was suspected with IVC obstruction from the screening CT which revealed liver cirrhosis with marked caudate lobe enlargement and dilatation of azygous and hemiazygous vein. Subsequent radionuclide cavography with 99mTc-HSA clearly demonstrated IVC obstruction, but failed to clarify the site or type of the obstruction. Finally contrast cavography diagnosed a web of the hepatic IVC, which was treated by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). During two-year follow-up after PTA none of the radionuclide cavographies showed reocclusion of the IVC and as a result contrast cavography was avoided. Radionuclide cavography, therefore, was a useful method for evaluating IVC obstruction before and after PTA for the Budd-Chiari web.