Open AccessAcute pulmonary embolism originating from upper limb venous thrombosis following breast cancer surgery: Two case reports
Author(s) -
Di Yan,
Guoli Wang,
Xin Guo,
Lili Yang,
Fei Tian
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
world journal of clinical cases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.368
H-Index - 10
ISSN - 2307-8960
DOI - 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i21.7445
Subject(s) - medicine , venous thrombosis , surgery , breast cancer , pulmonary embolism , malignancy , thrombosis , discontinuation , mastectomy , axillary vein , upper limb , cancer , deep vein
Upper limb venous thrombosis (ULVT) is rarer than lower-extremity deep venous thrombosis, and is related to Paget-Schroetter syndrome, central venous catheterization, and malignancy. There are few reports of pulmonary embolism (PE) from upper-extremity vein thrombosis due to surgery. Herein, we report two cases of PE that originated from upper limb venous thrombosis on the surgical side in two patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy for breast cancer. These cases challenge the traditional theory that PE originate only from the lower extremities.