[Superior vena cava syndromes of benign etiology]

Superior vena cava syndromes are uncommon and usually caused by malignant diseases. In about 20% of the cases however, the cause is benign. Besides chronic mediastinitis, a growing number of cases are reported of thrombosis resulting from endovenous devices (central catheters, pacemaker leads...). Onset is often slow and insidious, good tolerance in the early stages being explained by the development of an effective collateral circulation. Bibrachial phlebography is still the reference exploration, but computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are contributive to diagnosis. Symptoms usually regress after medical treatment, sometimes requiring thrombolysis, however, in 10% of the patients, major functional impairment may require bypass surgery (autologous graft or endoprosthesis) or transluminal angioplasty. There is still some debate as to the precise indications for each method, but angioplasty, used recently, appears to be the most interesting technique for a disease in which prognosis is almost always favorable.