Successful treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome with early gastric cancer.

In a patient with Budd-Chiari syndrome associated with early gastric cancer, the membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava was removed by Percutaneus Transluminal Angioplasty (PTA) without any complication. Due to continuous poor clinical status and hepato-renal dysfunction, her early cancer stomach lesion was treated with Nd: YAG laser. In follow-up biopsies, malignant change became evident three months after laser therapy. By that time hepatorenal function gradually improved, and a partial gastrectomy was performed successfully. PTA is a safe and effective procedure for clinical management of Budd-Chiari syndrome, and when there is concomitant early stage malignancy, PTA followed by laser therapy paves the way for major surgery.