Transatrial stent placement for treatment of inferior vena cava obstruction secondary to extension of intracardiac tumor thrombus from hepatocellular carcinoma

Two cases of superior vena cava-to-inferior vena cava (IVC) transatrial stent placement to palliate obstruction of the IVC secondary to the intracardiac extension of hepatocellular carcinoma are reported. Both patients presented with debilitating edema of the trunk and lower extremities and varying degrees of hepatic venous obstruction resulting in Budd-Chiari syndrome. One patient required the adjunctive creation of a percutaneous portocaval shunt and the second patient responded to transatrial stent placement alone. Both patients' functional status improved and edema markedly decreased after endovascular therapy.