Congenital venous web causing subclavian vein obstruction: a case report

A 7 1/2-year-old black girl had exercise-induced swelling of the left arm and left anterior chest wall caused by a congenital venous web of the subclavian vein. Operative repair was accomplished by venotomy and excision of the web. A venous digital subtraction angiogram obtained on the sixth postoperative day showed unobstructed flow through the operative area. We believe that an isolated, nonthrombotic functional obstruction of the subclavian vein by a venous web has not been previously reported in the English-language literature.