50 Years Ago in The Journal of Pediatrics:

Article Outline

• Copyright

Edwards WM, Bennett CE. J Pediatr 1957;50:453-6

Edwards and Bennett report a newborn who was noted at birth to have superficial veins of the abdomen and anterior chest wall that were quite distended. When the patient was 16 days of age, this finding caused quite a stir. The patient underwent multiple laboratory evaluations, including a barium swallow, a chest radiography, and a venogram. The diagnosis was complete atresia of the inferior vena cava with superficial collateral circulation. No treatment was rendered, and the child did well.

A review of the known literature at the time revealed several isolated case reports, and all reported patients also did well.

What this article truly illustrates is how far noninvasive imaging has progressed in 50 years. If this child were seen today, he or she would have undergone magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with or without contrast to confirm the diagnosis. This diagnosis is also, incidentally, found in adults and evaluated non-invasively by using MRI techniques.

The only issue these patients generally present is the possibility of obstruction during pregnancy of the circulatory return to the heart; otherwise, the obstruction remains benign.