Interventional Radiology - Case Report 2016

Superior vena cava syndrome: do not miss the Ariadne’s thread

10.4261/1305-3825.DIR.5781-12.1

  • Mostafa El Hajjam,
  • Pierre Yves Marcy,
  • Alexis Lacout,
  • Juliette Thariat,
  • Pascal Lacombe

Received Date: 23.02.2013 Accepted Date: 02.04.2012 Diagn Interv Radiol 2013;19(1):70-72

A central venous catheter tip located too high into the superior vena cava (SVC) is known to be a strong risk factor for central venous thrombosis and subsequent SVC syndrome. We report herein the usefulness of catheterizing the implanted port catheter lumen as a salvage procedure to circumvent a complete SVC occlusion in a breast cancer patient. Because the standard central vein catheterization attempt is often unsuccessful, the port catheter should always be considered as the Ariadne’s thread and used as an attempt for catheterization.