Pulmonary Embolism in a Patient of Renal Cell Carcinoma with Inferior Vena Cava Thrombus : A case report

ABSTRACT

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) involves frequently the inferior vena cava (IVC). As effective treatment of RCC with IVC thrombus is currently lacking, aggressive surgical treatment may be considered. However, this procedure can result in fatal complications such as pulmonary embolism. We experienced a case of pulmonary embolism diagnosed, not by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography, but by a computed tomography scan taken just after radical nephrectomy with IVC thrombectomy in a 63-year-old patient with RCC extending to the IVC.