Double inferior vena cava with interiliac vein: a case report and literature review

The duplication of the inferior vena cava (IVC) is a rare, but well-recognized anomaly. Duplicated IVC has a significant relevance for retroperitoneal surgery and venous interventional radiology. We report a case of duplicated IVC, which was observed during routine dissection of an 84-year-old Japanese female cadaver. The interiliac vein between the duplicated IVC ran obliquely upwards from left to right. We performed systematic literature review of published reports based on Pubmed and Medline from 1967 to 2011. Of 109 cases with IVC anomalies identified by the literature search, 22 cases (20.2%) displayed no interiliac anastomosis. The interiliac vein connecting duplicated IVC existed in 74 cases (67.9%). According to the running direction of the interiliac vein, we found that the vein ran from left to right in 42 cases, coursed from right to left in 19 cases, and ran horizontally in 13 cases. Thirteen left IVC displayed symmetrical-to-normal connection with the bilateral common iliac veins. Awareness of these venous variations is necessary to reduce surgical risk and to determine strategy in interventional radiology.