Antecubital Central Venous Catheter Placement Complicated by a Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava

A 14-year-old female in whom we encountered a persistent left superior vena cava during placement of a central venous catheter is presented. The patient had a history of coarctation of the aorta, but the left superior vena cava was unknown. Since the incidence of persistent left superior vena cava in patients with congenital heart disease is ten times as great as those without, in this patient population it may be useful to obtain radiographic confirmation of catheter position before use.