Double inferior vena cava with three shunts: a rare but important implications for surgeons.

Inferior vena cava (IVC) is the largest single vein that collects systemic venous blood from the lower part of the body except the gut and drains into the right atrium. Double IVC is a rare anomaly in humans and usually is discovered incidentally during the interventional radiological procedures or routine cadaveric dissection. Here we report a rare case of unusual observations in an adult female Thai cadaver with a duplicated left IVC with three short venous shunts and a variant pattern of the hemiazygos vein. Also included in this case was the presence of unilateral double renal vein on the right kidney. This type of anatomic variation of the great vein has never been reported before. A detailed description of these variations is useful and essential for the surgeons during approaching the retroperitoneal region.