Superior Vena Cava Syndrome, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Superior Vena Cava Syndrome, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases
SVC syndrome is a constriction or obstruction of the superior vena cava (SVC), which is the second largest vein in the human body.
The superior vena cava transports blood from the upper half of the body to the heart.
Blockage of the superior vena cava (SVC) can be due to external pressure, involvement of the vessel by tumor tissue, or a blood clot blocking the lumen.
Causes
SVC syndrome is an infrequent disorder.
It is most often produced by cancer or a tumor in the mediastinum
Today, the most frequent cause is superior mediastinal pressure linked with lung cancer (> 85%).
SVC syndrome can also be produced by non-cancerous disorders that produce scarring.
1.Histoplasmosis (fungal infection)
2.Inflammation of a vein (thrombophlebitis)
3.Lung infections (such as TB)
Other causes of SVC blockage are:
1.Aortic aneurysm (a widening of the artery that leaves the heart)
2.Blood clots in the SVC
3.Constrictive pericarditis (tightening of the thin lining of the sac surrounding the heart)
4.Effects of radiation therapy for certain medical conditions
5.Enlargement of the thyroid gland (goiter)
6.Catheters placed in the large veins of the upper arm and neck
Symptoms
Symptoms may start suddenly or gradually, and may worsen when the patient bends over or lies down.
1.Swelling around the eye
2.Swelling of the face
3.Swelling of the whites of the eyes
The swelling tend most likely be worse in the early morning hours and fade away by mid-morning.
The most frequent symptoms are shortness of breath (dyspnea) and swelling of the face, neck, trunk, and arms.
In adults, bronchogenic carcinoma was the most frequent cause of SVC obstruction
In children, the most frequent causes are T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Other probable symptoms are:
1.Decreased alertness
2.Dizziness, fainting
3.Headache
4.Reddish face or cheeks
Signs:
1.Dilated veins over the arms, neck and anterior chest wall.
2.Edema of the upper body, extremities and face.
3.Severe respiratory distress.
Diagnosis
The doctor will do a physical examination, which may reveal enlarged veins of the face, neck, and upper chest.
Blood pressure is often elevated in the arms and low in the legs.
CXR, CT scan and MRI: may show a widened mediastinum or a mass on the right side of the chest
Bronchoscopy has a reported diagnostic result of >70%, whilst mediastinoscopy or mediastinotomy has a result of >90%.
Treatment

The purpose of treatment is to alleviate the obstruction.
The placement of a stent (tube placed inside a blood vessel) to open up the SVC
Medical
1.Elevation of the head, and oxygen
2.Diuretics (water pills) or steroids (anti-inflammatory drugs)
3.Radiation or chemotherapy or surgery to reduce the tumor
4.Anticoagulation may be needed where venography has revealed central vein thrombosis, to prevent pulmonary embolism
Surgical
Stenting and angioplasty (also known as endovascular surgery) are particularly useful in patients requiring long-term venous access
Reconstructive surgery is possible and may be helped by the use of autologous tissue
These treatments may be used for SVCS in children:
1.Radiation therapy if a tumor is blocking the vein
2.Corticosteroids to reduce swelling
3.Chemotherapy for treatment of tumor
4 Stent placement to improve blood flow
5.Surgery so blood can flow around the blocked part of the vein
Stenting should be considered first-line treatment for SVCS of benign origin, with open surgical reconstruction still a good choice if endovascular repair fails or is unsuitable

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Superior Vena Cava Syndrome
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 D

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Apr 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463322529

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Superior Vena Cava

Syndrome,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2018 Smashwords Syndrome

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Superior Vena Cava Syndrome, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What The patient Need to Treat Superior Vena Cava Syndrome)

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Superior Vena Cava Syndrome

What is Superior Vena Cava Syndrome?

SVC syndrome is a constriction or obstruction of the superior vena cava (SVC), which is the second largest vein in the human body.