Abstract

Persistent hiccups has not been reported previously with suprahepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) stenting. Persistent hiccups after palliative oesophageal stenting has been reported. We present a case of a 41-year-old male patient diagnosed with primary Budd-Chiari syndrome who underwent IVC stenting for suprahepatic IVC stenosis. Patient developed transient hiccups post procedure which settled immediately with medications. Patient developed a recurrence of symptoms after a year due to stent migration which led to redo stenting. Post-procedure, the patient developed persistent hiccups which could not be controlled by physiological methods or chlorpromazine and needed baclofen at a dose of 10 mg three times a day. The patient has been symptom-free for the past 2 years. Persistent hiccups may present as a rare complication of suprahepatic IVC stenting due to extrinsic phrenic nerve compression or by direct irritation of the diaphragm. Baclofen has been effective in terminating persistent hiccups in our case.