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Updated: May 22, 2026

Image Acquisition Method for the Sonographic Assessment of the Inferior Vena Cava
Published on: January 13, 2023
Bilateral absence of superior vena cava
Manish Bansal1, James Strainic, Ravi Ashwath
1Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. manish.bansal@uhhospitals.org
Abstract:
The absence of a right superior vena cava (SVC) in situs solitus is very rare, and even then it is usually associated with left SVC. There have been few case reports in the literature of isolated bilateral absence of SVC. Bilateral absent SVC can have clinical implication, including pacemaker placements, central venous line placement, monitoring, and occasionally associated anomalies. We describe a case detected on fetal echocardiogram with bilateral absent SVC and structurally normal heart.
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