Management of membranous obstruction of inferior vena cava by percutaneous balloon angioplasty with or without the use of a stent

✍ Scribed by Cheng, Tsung O.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 7 KB
• Volume: 40
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0098-6569
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0304(199703)40:3<336::aid-ccd31>3.0.co;2-k

✦ Synopsis

I read with interest the article on the use of stents for membranous obstruction of inferior vena cava (MOVC) by Kaul and colleagues [1]. In a recently published 8-year follow-up study of 38 patients from China, my colleagues and I [2] found restenosis in only 1 patient. This patient, our first, required a second transluminal balloon angioplasty 3 years later, and a third another 4.25 years later for recurrent restenosis, at which time a Gianturco stent was placed.

Therefore, in most cases of MOVC, balloon angioplasty has been very successful with long-lasting results. Should restenosis develop, redilation is usually feasible. As Kaul and colleagues [1] pointed out, stents may not eliminate restenosis totally. The possible cause-and-effect relation between stent placement and subsequent hepatic vein thrombosis in one of their patients is of some concern.