Superior vena caval stenosis: a complication of transvenous endocardial pacing

Superior vena caval obstruction is a rare complication of transvenous endocardial pacing and is usually the result of thrombus formation round the pacing elec-trode (Kosowsky and Barr, 1972). We report a case of superior vena caval obstruction without thrombus for-mation secondary to localised stenosis at the site of the proximal cut end of a retracted endocardial electrode. This complication of transvenous pacing electrodes has not been described previously. Case report A 60-year-old woman presented in December 1971 with three syncopal episodes typical of Stokes-Adams attacks. A permanent Devices demand endocardial ventricular pacemaker was inserted via the left cephalic vein with the generator in a left infraclavicular sub