Internal Jugular Vein Entrapment

Copyright © 2012 Marian Simka et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. We describe a multiple sclerosis patient presenting with compression of the internal jugular vein caused by aberrant omohyoid muscle. Previously this patient underwent balloon angioplasty of the same internal jugular vein. Tenmonths after this endovascular procedure, Doppler sonography revealed totally collapsed middle part of the treated vein with no outflow detected. Still, the vein widened and the flow was restored when the patient’s mouth opened. Thus, the abnormality was likely to be caused by muscular compression. Surgical exploration confirmed that an atypical omohyoidmuscle was squeezing the vein. Consequently, pathological muscle was transected. Sonographic control three weeks after surgical procedure revealed a decompressed vein with fully restored venous outflow. Although such a muscular compression can be successfully managed surgically, future research has to establish its clinical relevance. 1