Oliveira Nelson, Dias Emanuel, Lima Ricardo, Oliveira Fernando, Cássio Isabel
Department of Angiology and Vascular Surgery, Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, 9500 Ponta Delgada, Portugal.
Case Rep Med. 2011;2011:123041. doi: 10.1155/2011/123041. Epub 2011 Jun 16.
Introduction. Primary venous tumours are a rare cause of deep vein thrombosis. The authors present a case where the definitive diagnosis was delayed by inconclusive complementary imaging. Clinical Case. A thirty-seven-year-old female presented with an iliofemoral venous thrombosis of the right lower limb. The patient had presented with an episode of femoral-popliteal vein thrombosis five months before and was currently under anticoagulation. Phlegmasia alba dolens installed progressively, as thrombus rapidly extended to the inferior vena cava despite systemic thrombolysis and anticoagulation. Diagnostic imaging failed to identify the underlying aetiology of the deep vein thrombosis. The definitive diagnosis of primary venous leiomyosarcoma was reached by a subcutaneous abdominal wall nodule biopsy. Conclusion. Primary venous leiomyosarcoma of the iliac vein is a rare cause of deep vein thrombosis, which must be considered in young patients with recurrent or refractory to treatment deep vein thrombosis.