Surgical management of renal carcinoma with extensive involvement of the vena cava and right atrium.

Between 1988 and 1990, 8 patients with a renal tumour extending into the vena cava and with supradiaphragmatic extension were treated by an operative technique involving extracorporeal circulation and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. In 4 patients the thrombus extended into the right atrium. Six patients appeared to have a renal carcinoma. Intra-operatively one patient's tumour proved to be a metastasis of a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and another patient was found post-operatively to have a leiomyosarcoma of the vena cava. Two of these 6 patients died from metastases 6 weeks and 8 months post-operatively. Four patients are symptom-free, although 3 of them have liver or lung metastases 10, 20 and 37 months post-operatively. One has no evidence of disease 18 months post-operatively. The use of extracorporeal circulation and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest provides optimal surgical exposure and gives the patients a considerable complaint-free interval post-operatively. How often cure is also achieved is as yet unclear.