Successful flutter catheter ablation through the azygos continuation due to an interrupted inferior vena cava.

Inferior vena cava IVC is a crucial route for catheter access (both directly to the right heart and indirectly through a transeptal puncture to the left heart, used in most electrophysiological procedures). However, interrupted IVC is a real challenge to traditional arrythmia ablation approaches, compromising in certain cases the success of the procedure. A well-developed azygos continuation offers an alternative pathway, bypassing the interrupted segment of the IVC. We report the case of a 60 years old female, who underwent catheter ablation of a counterclockwise flutter. During the procedure, she was discovered to have an uncommon anatomical venous pathway from femoral access to the right heart chambers. She was diagnosed to have an interruption of the supra-renal segment of the inferior vena cava with azygos continuation. Radiofrequency ablation of the cavotricuspid isthmus was successfully performed through the azygos continuation.
(© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of University of Washington.)