An Unusual Case of Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Caused by the Intravascular Invasion of an Invasive Thymoma

• Published in: Tuberculosis and respiratory diseases Vol. 75; no. 5; pp. 210 - 213
• Main Authors: Kim, Hyung Joon, Cho, Sun Young, Cho, Woo Hee, Lee, Do Hyun, Lim, Do Hyoung, Seo, Pil Won, Park, Mi-Hyun, Lee, Wonae, Lee, Jai Hyuen, Kim, Doh Hyung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 01.11.2013; 대한결핵및호흡기학회
• Subjects: Case Report; 내과학; Thymoma; Superior Vena Cava Syndrome; Positron-Emission Tomography
• ISSN: 1738-3536; 2005-6184
• DOI: 10.4046/trd.2013.75.5.210

Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is usually caused by extrinsic compression or invasion of the superior vena cava (SVC) by malignant tumors involving mediastinal structures. Although thymomas are well-known causes of SVCS, cases of SVCS caused by malignant thymomas protruding into adjacent vessels draining the SVC with thrombosis have been very rarely reported worldwide. We experienced a 39-year-old female patient with SVCS that developed after the direct invasion of the left brachiocephalic vein (LBCV) and SVC by an anterior mediastinal mass with a high maximum standardized uptake value on the chest computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography-CT. Based on these results, she underwent en bloc resection of the tumor, including removal of the involved vessels, and was eventually diagnosed as having a type B2 thymoma permeating into the LBCV and SVC. We present this case as a very rare form of SVCS caused by an invasive thymoma.