Evaluation of upper abdominal venous variations with multislice computed tomography

Purpose: This study was aimed to determine the types and the frequency of the upper abdominal venous variations including hepatic, portal, and renal veins along with inferior vena cava and to evaluate differences between genders.Methods: This study was carried out by the evaluation of the data of 523 patients (271 female (% 52) and 251 male (%48)) who had routine abdominal multislice computed tomography (MSCT). Frequency of venous anatomical variants were calculated and compared between both genders.Results: One or more venous variants were detected in 279 patients (53.3%) of total 523 patients. No variation was detected in 223 patients (42.6%). Portal and hepatic venous variations were relatively common, and although no statistical significance was found, hepatic venous variations were more frequent in women. No statistical difference were detected for the variations of vena cava inferior, renal and portal veins between both sexes (p>0.05). In addition, rare hepatic and portal vein variations were described.Conclusion: MSCT can be used reliably before the surgical and radiologic interventions for which vascular variations may have importance. Besides, venous variations should be carefully evaluated and noted during the evaluation of abdominal MSCT report seasons in radiology departments.Key words: Abdomen, venous variants, computed tomography.