Extensive Inferior Vena Cava Thrombosis in a Liver Transplant Patient: A Case Report

Abstract

Thrombosis of the inferior vena cava is a clinical condition with very diverse presentations, ranging from asymptomatic patients to others with severe edema in the legs and lower torso. We report the case of a 27-year-old female patient, previously diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, with asymptomatic extensive thrombosis of the inferior vena cava. The thrombus extended from the renal veins up to the emergence of the hepatic veins, causing post-sinusoidal portal hypertension (Budd-Chiari syndrome). The patient underwent an orthotopic cadaveric liver transplant with removal of the retrohepatic vena cava and thrombectomy of blood clots from the infrahepatic vena cava. She initially recovered well from surgery, but on the 8 postoperative day she had a significant increase in hepatic injury markers and was diagnosed with rethrombosis of the inferior vena cava and hepatic veins. A surgical thrombectomy was performed, with an intraoperative finding of chronic thrombus in both renal veins, previously undiagnosed. The thrombectomy was successful, but the patient's hepatic function continued to worsen and a second liver transplant was performed. After the second transplant she underwent several imaging exams that showed no signs of rethrombosis. She was kept on postoperative anticoagulation indefinitely, first with intravenous heparin then with rivaroxaban. An extensive investigation failed to identify any causes of thrombophilia associated with this vast thrombosis. She is currently alive and with good graft function 1 year and 4 months after the second transplant.