Superior vena cava syndrome historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Maria Fernanda Villarreal, M.D. [2]

Overview

Superior vena cava syndrome was first discovered by William Hunter (1718-1783), a Scottish obstetrician, in 1757.

Historical Perspective

In 1757, William Hunter discovered the superior vena cava syndrome for the first time.^[1]^[2]
In 1954, Schechter performed a SVCS case-series and reported that 40% of SVCS were due to syphilitic aneurysms.^[3]
In the past, empiric radiation was given to shrink the tumor. With the advent of better medical therapy for some lung cancers and lymphoma and the low morbidity associated with diagnostic procedures, this approach has fallen out of favor.^[1]^[2]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 William Hunter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hunter_%28anatomist%29 Accessed on December 11, 2016
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 BOEVER JM (1954). “[Superior vena cava syndrome]”. Fr Med (in French). 17 (8): 5–10. PMID 13200680.
↑ O’Brien RT, Matlak ME, Condon VR, Johnson DG (1981). “Superior vena cava syndrome in children”. West. J. Med. 135 (2): 143–7. PMC 1273046. PMID 7025456.

Overview