Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society
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The aims of this study were to evaluate both the efficacy of stent placement for treating inferior vena cava (IVC) stenosis and the patency of hepatic veins (HVs) following IVC stent placement. Fourteen hepatic transplant recipients underwent stent placement to treat IVC stenosis. The median interval between transplantation and stent placement was 32 days. ⋯ Four patients underwent HV balloon angioplasty or stent placement through IVC stent meshes either immediately (n = 1) or 12-110 days after (n = 3) IVC stent placement. Nine of the 12 patients were healthy when this manuscript was completed, and the last follow-up computed tomography scan obtained at a median of 65.3 months after IVC stent placement revealed the patency of the stent-placed IVC and HVs. IVC stent placement seems to be an effective treatment with an excellent, long-term patency for treating posttransplant stenosis, although the possibility of hepatic venous outflow abnormalities following IVC stent placement should also be considered.