Inferior Vena Cava System Anomalies: Surgical Implications

The inferior vena cava (IVC) system is the major venous collecting blood network of the human body. This structure is formed in a complicated series of developmental stages between the fourth and eighth weeks of intrauterine life. Alterations in the developing process of the IVC system give rise to an array of different congenital variants or developmental anomalies.

IVC anomalies are uncommon, usually of little physiological consequence, and mostly discovered incidentally during cross-sectional imaging in otherwise healthy individuals. However, they do have implications of relevance to surgeons because they may lead to significant complications during vascular interventional radiology procedures and retroperitoneal surgery when undiagnosed. This review synthesizes the current literature pertaining the development and identification of IVC anomalies, highlighting their possible implications for surgical procedures involving this retroperitoneal vessel.