Reconstruction of a total avulsion of the hepatic veins and the suprahepatic inferior vena cava secondary to blunt thoracoabdominal trauma.
BACKGROUND
Blunt injury to the inferior vena cava is a rare but dramatic event having a high mortality up to 80%. The mortality increases after total avulsion especially in combination with secondary intra-abdominal injuries.


METHODS
We report on a 15-year-old boy who sustained a blunt trauma with a total, partially covered avulsion of the hepatic veins and the suprahepatic inferior vena cava.


CONCLUSIONS
We treated the patient under internal bypassing of the retrohepatic vena cava by using the heart-lung machine and reconstructed the hepatic veins and suprahepatic vena cava with a conduit made of pericard.
Kaemmerer
Daniel
D
Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Zentralklinik Bad Berka, Robert-Koch-Allee 9, 99437 Bad Berka, Germany. d.kaemmerer.avc@zentralklinik-bad-berka.de
Daffner
Wolfgang
W
Niwa
Martin
M
Kuntze
Thomas
T
Hommann
Merten
M
D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D000293:Adolescent; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D006355:Heart-Lung Machine; D006503:Hepatic Veins / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010496:Pericardium / Q000637:transplantation; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D057772:Vascular System Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000150:complications