Pseudo-Budd-Chiari syndrome: extrinsic deformity of the intrahepatic inferior vena cava mimicking membranous obstruction.

Budd-Chiari syndrome secondary to membranous obstruction of the intrahepatic inferior vena cava is a treatable form of chronic liver disease. I report a patient with portal hypertension in whom distortion of the inferior vena cava by cirrhosis and increased intraabdominal pressure initially suggested this condition. The correct diagnosis was made by obtaining lateral views during inferior vena cavography, which demonstrated a tapered, rather than membranous, obstruction, along with normal hepatic venous anatomy and pressure and markedly increased portal vein pressure during transhepatic puncture with a thin needle. That extrinsic deformity of the inferior vena cava may mimic membranous obstruction has not been emphasized recently. This distinction is important as surgical membranotomy is not indicated in patients with cirrhosis and secondary deformity of the inferior vena cava.