We report on a 61-year-old man with a previously unknown interruption of the inferior vena cava who was scheduled to undergo minimally invasive mitral and tricuspid valve surgery. We aimed to establish a cardiopulmonary bypass using femorofemoral cannulation under transoesophageal echocardiography. In spite of multiple attempts, the positioning of the venous wire in the right atrium was not accomplished. The intervention was subsequently performed by an open sternotomy. Further to the intervention, the patient underwent thoraco-abdominal multislice computed tomography that excluded the presence of an abdominal tumour or vena cava thrombosis but revealed atresia of the inferior vena cava.