Budd-Chiari syndrome secondary to retro-hepatic vena cava web: An unusual cause of epigastric pain

Abstract

Epigastric abdominal pain is a common indication for consultation. In the majority of cases, medical history, clinical examination and routine biological exams allow for an easy diagnosis. Sometimes the symptomatology is unusual, in which case it is essential to perform a complete clinical examination and to use various imaging techniques to search for eventual atypical causes. Membranous obstruction of inferior vena cava is a rare cause of such a phenomenon. We describe a Budd-Chiari syndrome caused by membranous obstruction of inferior vena cava in a 66-year-old woman with no medical history as a rare cause of epigastric abdominal pain. We will describe this clinical experience in the light of the literature and point out the contribution of radiological imaging in the diagnosis of this rare pathology.

Keywords

• Vena cava
• Supra-hepatic veins
• Web
• MOIVC
• Budd-Chiari
• Ultrasound