Introduction
Methods used for cardiac and respiratory support during lung
transplantation include cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), veno-arterial
extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO), and veno-venous
extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO).1 These
strategies typically require venous drainage by placing a cannula within
the inferior vena cava (IVC). However, in rare instances the patient may
have anomalies of the IVC, which would preclude this. Absence of the IVC
has an incidence of 0.0005% to 1% in the general
population.2 We present a case of a patient with
absence of the IVC who required cardiopulmonary support during lung
transplantation and the method employed to provide such support.