Ectopic liver masquerading as a floating intracaval mass

Ectopic liver is defined as liver parenchyma situated outside the liver proper with no connection to native hepatic tissue. This rare developmental anomaly is most commonly described as an attachment to the gallbladder with an incidence <0.3%, but it has been reported in other locations within the abdomen and thorax.(2-4) Most cases are found incidentally in asymptomatic patients, but ectopic liver has been known to cause visceral or vascular obstruction.(4,5) Herein we present a unique case of ectopic liver attached by a thin stalk seemingly floating in the suprahepatic inferior vena cava. (J Vasc Surg 2012;55:1759-61.)