Profound hypothermic circulatory arrest for the management of a penetrating retrohepatic venous injury: case report.

Injury to the retrohepatic vena cava and hepatic veins carries with it a very high mortality rate. This type of injury is fraught with difficulty because of poor exposure and uncontrolled bleeding. Various techniques for the management of these injuries have been reported. We describe the use of profound hypothermic circulatory arrest to facilitate repair of penetrating injury to the retrohepatic vena cava and hepatic veins.