Absent infrarenal inferior vena cava

Last revised by Yuranga Weerakkody on 9 Apr 2020

An absent infrarenal inferior vena cava can be congenital, due to the failure of development of the posterior cardinal and supracardinal veins, or acquired, as a result of intrauterine or perinatal inferior vena cava thrombosis.

It is an extremely rare anomaly.

The patient may present with symptoms of lower extremity venous insufficiency or idiopathic deep venous thrombosis, particularly in younger patients.

The non-invasive modalities of choice are contrast enhanced CT or MRI, which are preferred to ultrasound. The gold standard is venography, sometimes performed for surgical planning.

General features include:

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