Resection of the superior vena cava for primary lung cancer: 5 years' survival. We describe a patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the right lung that required a resection of the superior vena cava combined with a tracheal sleeve pneumonectomy. The superior vena cava was totally replaced with a polytetrafluoroethylene graft with 115 minutes cross-clamping of the superior vena cava. The patient remains healthy and the polytetrafluoroethylene graft remains patent 5 years 4 months after operation. 