What is the risk if the vena cava becomes compressed during a surgical procedure?

When the vena cava becomes compressed during a surgical procedure, reduced blood flow is a significant risk. The vena cava is responsible for returning deoxygenated blood from the body's periphery back to the heart. Compression of this vital vessel can impede this return flow, leading to decreased venous return to the heart. As a consequence, this can result in lower cardiac output and may manifest as symptoms like hypotension and decreased perfusion to vital organs.

Understanding this mechanism is crucial in a surgical context, as maintaining stable hemodynamics is a priority during any invasive procedure. The other options, while they could be consequences of various surgical complications, relate to different physiological processes and are not the direct outcome of vena cava compression specifically.