[Effectiveness of endovascular prostheses as initial treatment for superior vena cava syndrome of malignant cause].

Background And Objective: Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is caused by venous return obstruction often originated by an invading mediastinal tumour. Our objective was to evaluate the usefulness of stents as initial treatment for SVCS of malignant origin.

Patients And Methods: From December 1996 to August 2010, 120 patients with SVCS were referred for percutaneous treatment.