Left-sided inferior vena cava - A case report

Abstract

© 2016, Serbian Medical Society. All rights reserved. Left-sided inferior vena cava (LIVC) is a rare, but also one of the most important anatomical variations in the spectrum of the congenital anomalies of this blood vessel. Today, IVC variations and its tributaries are increasingly recognized, primarily thanks to the availability and use of modern imaging modalities (multidetector computed tomography-MDCT, magnetic resonance imaging-MRI). In our paper we present a case of LIVC in a 23-year-old patient. During the examination of the abdomen with 64-slice MDCT-with intravenous contrast (i.v.) we discovered LIVC. The patient had come to the examination because of a traffic trauma. The review found that LIVC ended at the level of the left renal vein, and then crossed anterior to the abdominal aorta to join the right renal vein and formed a normal right IVC. Anatomical variations of IVC are usually asymptomatic and are discovered during routine controls performed for any other reason. LIVC has a prevalence of 0.2%-0.5%. Contrast-enhanced CT is the modality of choice in patients with LIVC. With the availability of high-speed MDCT scanners and sagittal and coronal reconstructions extraordinary views of the normal and abnormal IVC are obtained. The significance of a LIVC is to exclude left paraaortic lymphadenopathy, varices, collateral and gonadal veins. The main clinical significance is preoperative diagnosis for abdominal surgery, kidney and liver transplantation, or trauma. So we need to think about existence of the LIVC.