Internal Jugular Vein Duplication: A series of Seven Cases and Review of Literature.

Abstract

Introduction: Internal Jugular Vein (IJV) is an important landmark for Head and Neck surgeons during oncological clearance of disease from neck and microvascular reconstruction as well as for the intensivist during central line insertion. Detailed knowledge of the IJV anatomy and its variations is important to avert any catastrophic complications during surgery.

Materials and methods: Data of 350 patients was recorded prospectively and analysed over a period of two years and presence of IJV duplication was documented as percentages.

Results: A total of 350 patients with diagnosed oral cavity carcinoma were included who underwent neck dissection out of which seven patients were identified with Internal Jugular Vein duplication making it an institutional clinical prevalence of around 2%.

Conclusion: IJV duplication is inadvertently found intra operatively on maximum number of occasions therefore to avoid the risk of iatrogenic injury and undesired complications, preoperative imaging should be carefully assessed while planning the patient for surgery.