Can the vena cava be repaired?

Inferior vena cava (IVC) repair after planned and unplanned venotomy is performed by either interposition bypass, patch venopasty, or lateral venorrhaphy and primary repair. Primary repair of the IVC avoids the use of foreign material and allows an all-autologous repair in an expeditious fashion.

How is IVC treated?

Treatment options included expectant management with anticoagulation versus catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT), mechanical thrombectomy, stenting, or a combination. For those who underwent intervention, technical success, defined as restoration of IVC patency, was assessed.

What does the caudal vena cava do?

The IVC is a large blood vessel responsible for transporting deoxygenated blood from the lower extremities and abdomen back to the right atrium of the heart. It has the largest diameter of the venous system and is a thin-walled vessel.

How do you repair IVC injury?

Operative management of IVC injuries include ligation, primary suture repair-venorrhaphy and patch cavaplasty using saphenous vein graft, autogenous peritoneo-fascial (APF) graft, synthetic graft such as Gore-Tex and Dacron.

What is IVC?

Your inferior vena cava (IVC) is the major vein that brings oxygen-poor blood from the lower body back to the heart. The heart then pumps the blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen. An IVC filter is a small, wiry device. When the filter is placed in your IVC, the blood flows past the filter.

Why is it called vena cava?

The venae cavae (/ˈviːni ˈkeɪvi/; from the Latin for “hollow veins”, singular “vena cava” /ˈviːnə ˈkeɪvə/) are two large veins (venous trunks) that return deoxygenated blood from the body into the heart.

What happens when the inferior vena cava is compressed?

Symptoms and signs of IVCS result from a reduced venous return to the heart, as well as a pooling of blood in the IVC, which causes hypotension, tachycardia, lower extremity edema, elevated liver enzymes, end-organ failures and, hypoxia, altered mental status, and death.

Can the IVC be ligated?

Ligation of the suprarenal IVC may be done, if necessary, although few survivors of this technique exist. (2) Early fasciotomy is generally required, but occasional patients may be treated expectantly, based on measurements of compartment pressures.

What are the treatment options for superior vena cava syndrome?

With less pressure pushing against the obstructed superior vena cava, symptoms may be temporarily relieved. Treatment needs to be directed to the underlying cause. If the cause is a tumor or cancer, the treatment plan will need to be customized to the patient’s condition and desires. Options include radiation with or without chemotherapy.

What causes the compression of the superior vena cava?

The most common cause of superior vena cava syndrome is cancer. Primary or metastatic cancer in the upper lobe of the right lung can compress the superior vena cava. Lymphoma or other tumors located in the mediastinum can also cause compression of the superior vena cava.

How long can a person with vena cava syndrome live?

Even with aggressive treatment with radiation, only 10 % of lung cancer patients with this syndrome survived to 30 months. Without any treatment, survival may be less than a month.

What causes superior vena cava syndrome in children?

Special consideration. In children, superior vena cava syndrome is most often caused bynon-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The compression of the superior vena cava may be associated with compression of the trachea as well. The trachea (windpipe) in children is relatively narrow, flexible, and soft as compared with an adult.