PERSISTENT LEFT SUPERIOR VENA CAVA DISCOVERED DURING IMPLANTATION OF A SUBCUTANEOUS PORT CATHETER IN A PATIENT WITH A MALIGNANT NEOPLASM

A persistent left superior vena cava is a significant congenital anomaly of the intrathoracic veins that occurs when the left superior cardinal vein fails to obliterate. Most commonly, it is observed in conjunction with a right superior vena cava, while isolated cases are rare. The overwhelming majority of cases are identified in patients with cardiac arrhythmias. The presence of a persistent left superior vena cava may cause technical difficulties and iatrogenic injuries during surgical interventions. Preoperative echocardiography and computed tomographic phlebography enable the detection of this anomaly.

1. Dolgushin B.I. Intervencionnaya radiologiya v onkologii. VIDAR; 2022. (In Russ.)

2. Wood P: Disesase of heart and circulation. 2nd edition. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott; 1956.

3. Morgan LG, Gardner J, Calkins J. the incidental finding of a persistent left superior vena cava: implications for primary care providerscase and review. Case Rep Med. 2015; 2015: 198754.

4. Persistent left superior vena cava: a case report and review of literature Sandeep K Goyal, Sujeeth R Punnam, Gita Verma and Frederick L Ruberg.

5. Roberts D, Bellamy C, Ramsdale D: Implantation of a dual chamber pacemaker in a patient with persistent left superior vena cava. Int J Cardiol. 1992, 36(2): 242-243.

6. Tak T, Crouch E, Drake GB. Persistent left superior vena cava: incidence, significance and clinical correlates. Int J Cardiol. 2002; 82: 91-3.

7. Persistent left superior vena cava as an incidental finding in the introduction of a transient pacemaker: A case report David Ricardo Echeverry, Juan Guillermo Buitrago, Andrés Alirio Restrepo, Cristhian David Morales.

8. Webb W, Gamsu G, Speckman J, Kaiser J, Federle M, Lipton M: Computed tomographic demonstration of mediastinal venous anomalies. AJR Am J Roentgenol 1982, 139(1): 157-161.

9. Irwin RB, Greaves M, Schmitt M. Left superior vena cava: revisited. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2012; 13: 284-91.

10. Nandakumar KP, Maitra S. Persistent left superior vena cava: What an anesthesiologist needs to know? J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol. 2018; 34: 407-8.

11. Jović Z, Mijailović Z, Obradović S, Tavciovski D, Matunović R, Rusović S, et al. Successful implantation of a permanent pacemaker through a persistent left superior vena cava by using a right subclavian approach. Vojnosanit Pregl. 2011; 68: 792-4.