Study aim: The study aim was to report results of nephrectomy with resection of cavo atrial thrombus in 6 patients with a renal carcinoma and supra-diaphragmatic vena cava extension and to discuss limits of the surgical indications.
Patients and method: Six patients, five adults (mean age: 57 +/- 10 years) and a four-year old girl, were operated on for a renal cell carcinoma with supra-diaphragmatic vena cava extension. The venous extension was detected in all cases by abdominal ultrasonography. The superior extent of the thrombus was effectively visualized by CT scan in three cases, and by ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging in all cases. All the patients were operated on, using cardio-pulmonary bypass, without circulatory arrest, four in normothermia, two in moderate hypothermia at 28 degrees C.
Results: Hospital mortality was 0%. Average intensive care unit stay was 3.8 days. During the following period, all the patients developed metastatic disease. Mean survival rate of the five adult patients who had loco-regional invasion was 9.4 months (range: 6 to 19). The young girl underwent a wedge excision of two pulmonary metastases one year later and was still alive 7 years later.
Conclusions: With cardio-pulmonary bypass, surgical resection of cavo-atrial thrombi may be performed with a low mortality and morbidity rate but late results were disappointing. Surgery should be limited to patients without loco-regional invasion or distant metastatic disease, and therefore accurate preoperative staging is mandatory.