Staged reconstruction of the inferior vena cava after gunshot injury.

A 23-year-old man with a gunshot injury to the abdomen and cardiac arrest requiring emergency department thoracotomy had a transection of the distal inferior vena cava (IVC) and small bowel injury. Because of persistent hemorrhagic shock, the IVC was ligated. During the next 3 days, he developed worsening bilateral leg edema. He was taken back for reanastomosis of his small bowel and reconstruction of the IVC using autologous femoral vein harvested from the right leg. We think that patients requiring ligation of the vena cava with worsening leg edema can benefit from a staged reconstruction of the IVC.