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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Fetal Medicine 2021; 08(01): 15-19
DOI: 10.1007/s40556-020-00279-y
Review Article

Prenatal Diagnosis of Absent Right Superior Vena Cava in Referrals for Fetal Echocardiography

Ruben J. Acherman
1   Children’s Heart Center Nevada, 3006 S. Maryland Pkwy Ste. 690, 89109, Las Vegas, NV, USA
2   Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2040 W Charleston Blvd 3rd Floor, 89102, Las Vegas, NV, USA
,
William N. Evans
1   Children’s Heart Center Nevada, 3006 S. Maryland Pkwy Ste. 690, 89109, Las Vegas, NV, USA
2   Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2040 W Charleston Blvd 3rd Floor, 89102, Las Vegas, NV, USA
,
Humberto Restrepo 
1   Children’s Heart Center Nevada, 3006 S. Maryland Pkwy Ste. 690, 89109, Las Vegas, NV, USA
2   Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2040 W Charleston Blvd 3rd Floor, 89102, Las Vegas, NV, USA
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Abstract

A persistent LSVC with an absent right superior vena cava (RSVC) is unusual, encountered in about 10% of patients with persistent LSVC. We present 14 patients with a prenatal diagnosis of single LSVC and situs solitus, including prenatal findings and information on medium-term follow-up. We identified patients with situs solitus and a persistent LSVC born between March 2004 and March 2020, which had been diagnosed prenatally between December 2003 and November 2019. From this cohort, we identified those with absent RSVC. In the population of women undergoing fetal echocardiography, the prevalence of persistent LSVC in situs solitus was 0.43% (84/19,712). For the 84 identified patients and for the entire population respectively, 14/84 (17%) and 14/19,712 (0.07%) had a single LSVC (absent RSVC). Of 14 patients with a single LSVC, 8 (57%) were male. For the 84 identified patients and for the entire population respectively, 70/84 (83%) and 70/19,712 (0.36%) had bilateral SVCs. For a single LSVC (absent RSVC) and situs solitus, the majority had no associated cardiac, extracardiac, or syndromic abnormalities.

Keywords

Congenital heart disease - Fetal echocardiography - Persistent left superior vena cava - Prenatal diagnosis - Situs solitus


Publication History

Received: 16 October 2020

Accepted: 23 November 2020

Article published online:
05 May 2023

© 2021. Society of Fetal Medicine. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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