Purpose: To study clinical and physiologic aspects of Z-stent therapy for superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome secondary to malignant disease.
Materials and methods: Signs and symptoms of SVC syndrome were classified, graded, and scored in 11 cases. Six patients with caval pressure higher than 22 mm Hg peripheral to the stenosis underwent stent therapy.
Results: Immediately after Z-stent implantation into the stenotic lesion, the diameter of the constriction increased from 3.3 mm +/- 2.0 (mean +/- standard deviation) to 14.0 mm +/- 3.2, the mean caval pressure peripheral to the stenosis decreased from 26.6 mm Hg +/- 2.5 to 8.9 mm Hg +/- 0.7, and the symptom score decreased from 6.7 +/- 1.8 to 1.3 +/- 1.4. The caval pressure, lesion diameter, and symptom score correlated highly with each other. One complication--transient pulmonary edema attributable to volume overload caused by reperfusion--was observed. Mean survival exceeded 7.1 months.
Conclusion: Stent placement could be a useful treatment for refractory SVC syndrome.