[Preduodenal portal vein (author's transl)]

Three cases of preduodenal portal vein (PDPV) observed in newborns and young infants are reported. In two patients the diagnosis was made during operations for duodenal stenosis and in the remaining one while operating for midgut volvulus and necrosis. In no case was the PDPV responsible for the clinical picture but in all three patients it was accompanied by other causes of obstruction: annular pancreas, extrinsic adhesive bands and malrotation. In one case there was also an asplenia, and polisplenia was present in another one. Both had malrotation and some degree of abnormal visceral asimmetry. The incidence of associated malformations in 52 previously reported cases is analyzed, and the more convincing embriological explanation for this anomaly is commented upon.