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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Radiol Imaging 2010; 20(01): 63-65
DOI: 10.4103/0971-3026.59758
Abdominal and Gastrointestinal Radiology

Mesoaortic entrapment of a left inferior vena cava

Ashish Gupta
Department of Cardiovascular Radiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi - 110 029, India
,
Nitish Naik
Department of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi - 110 029, India
,
Gurpreet Singh Gulati
Department of Cardiovascular Radiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi - 110 029, India
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Abstract

A persistent left inferior vena cava (IVC) is a rare anomaly, with a reported incidence of only 0.2-0.5%. When present, it courses between the superior mesenteric artery and the aorta to continue as the right IVC, similar to the course of a left renal vein (LRV). This anomaly is usually asymptomatic, but there may be vague abdominal complaints if the IVC is compressed in the mesoaortic angle. Although symptomatic compression of the LRV (anterior nutcracker syndrome) is well recognized, there has been only one report in the literature of a similar compression of a persistent left IVC. Because of its rarity, this anomaly may be missed or mistaken for other conditions on imaging. An accurate diagnosis is crucial as the presence of this anomaly may have implications for surgical treatment of aortic lesions or placement of an IVC filter. Magnetic resonance angiography and, more recently, multidetector computed tomography scan, can provide an exquisite three-dimensional demonstration of vascular abnormalities.

Keywords

Inferior vena cava - multidetector computed tomography - ultrasound


Publication History

Article published online:
02 August 2021

© 2010. Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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