Reconstructive surgery of the abdominal aorta in a case of left-positioned inferior vena cava : clinical case and review of the literature

An unsuspected left-sided inferior vena cava (IVC) can present a formidable challenge for the surgeon attempting abdominal aortic surgery. The incidence of congenital anomalies of the post-renal (infrarenal) vena cava is approximately 3%, with double inferior vena cava most frequently occurring. The authors refer to a case of isolated left-sided vena cava in a 53 year old man who underwent an aorto-femoral bypass graft for aorto-iliac occlusive disease. On the basis of a literature review the authors recall the incidence and the embryology of this anomaly, and analyze its surgical implications, with particular reference to abdominal aortic surgery.