Congenital absence of the entire inferior vena cava. The diagnostic significance of varicose veins of the abdominal wall.

Absence of the entire inferior vena cava was diagnosed by venography, computer tomography and ultrasonography in a 13-year-old boy, who had had dilated superficial abdominal veins since birth. An extensive collateral circulation was found from the left femoral vein, right common iliac vein and the kidneys, through deep abdominal veins, to the azygos vein and superior vena cava. Surgical treatment of this rare abnormality was neither necessary nor advisable.