CASE 3428 Published on 19.07.2005

Juxtacaval fat pad

Section

Cardiovascular

Case Type

Clinical Cases

Authors

Roldan Romero E, Ysamat Marfa R, Perez Ortega G, Martos Becerra J

Patient

74 years, male

Categories
No Area of Interest ; Imaging Technique CT
Clinical History
A 74-year-old male patient presented with dyspnea and bloody sputum.
Imaging Findings
The 74-year-old male patient who was a cigarette smoker, presented with a history of dyspnea and a recent appearance of bloody sputum. Radiography of the chest was performed, which showed a mass in the left upper lobe. The findings on a CT scan indicated a probable carcinoma of the lung and the presence of a posteromedial intracaval fat-mass-like lesion at the level of confluence of the hepatic veins and the inferior vena cava.
Discussion
A juxtacaval fat pad is a normal focal collection of fat, adjacent to or projecting into the inferior vena cava (IVC). It mimics an intraluminal mass of fat attenuation in the subdiaphragmatic IVC, which can be mistaken for a thrombus. On axial CT scans, the fat collection is seen to have a round or oval shape, and is located posteromedially to the IVC. Coronal reformatted images show the extraluminal location of the mass. It is a normal variant of the distribution of the fat around the subdiaphragmatic esophagus. This finding occurs in 0.5% of adults undergoing an abdominal CT scan. We conclude that juxtacaval fat pad has no clinical significance and we should not misinterpret it as an abnormality.
Differential Diagnosis List
Juxtacaval fat pad.
Final Diagnosis
Juxtacaval fat pad.
Case information
URL: https://www.eurorad.org/case/3428
DOI: 10.1594/EURORAD/CASE.3428
ISSN: 1563-4086