Physical therapy, compression garments, manual lymphatic drainage, and intermittent pneumatic compression pumps are currently the first line of treatment in patients with chronic lymphedema. Current guidelines recommend that surgical management can be attempted in selected patients who have failed conservative…
Managing the complex care related to lymphedema requires a thorough understanding of the associated anatomy, pathophysiology, risk factors, clinical presentation, and diagnostic tests. In addition, understanding individual risk factors and comorbidities allows one to develop an optimal management strategy for…
Lymphedema is defined as a pathologic condition in which there is an interstitial accumulation of protein-rich fluid. This condition affects more than 1 percent of the United States population and more than 150 million people worldwide. Lymphedema occurs secondary to…
Venous aneurysms are uncommon. The term aneurysm is used to describe saccular or fusiform dilatations of veins. A varix is defined as the association of dilatation with tortuosity, and phlebectasia is the term used to describe diffuse fusiform venous dilatations.…
Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are placed for the sole purpose of preventing a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism (PE). Development and introduction of retrievable IVC filters has been associated with a general liberalization of the indications for IVC filters. In…
Thrombosis is a physiologic hemostatic response to vascular injury. Pathologic thrombosis is based on the core triad of vascular trauma, blood flow stasis, and hypercoagulable hemostasis identified in the 19th century by German cytopathologist Rudolf Virchow. Pulmonary embolism (PE) occurs…
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition afflicting a broad spectrum of the population. It has been reported that approximately 600,000 patients experience a PE episode each year in the United States. Mortality rate exceeds 15% in…
Primary and secondary tumors of the vena cava are rare and often malignant. They either originate in the vein wall, invade the walls secondarily, or grow within the vena cava as tumor thrombus. They can cause extrinsic compression of the…
Thrombotic occlusions of the superior vena cava (SVC) or the inferior vena cava (IVC) requiring open surgical reconstruction are uncommon in the endovascular era. Chronic caval obstruction is usually the result of a previous acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which…
The superior vena cava (SVC) and inferior vena cava (IVC) have a critical role in maintaining venous return to the heart. Their occlusion is a source of considerable hemodynamic morbidity. SVC occlusion is usually related to venous stenosis because of…