ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULAS

¹ From the Department of Radiology, St. Luke's Hospital Center, New York, New York

All arteriovenous fistulas have one feature in common—shunting of blood from an artery to a vein. There are many causes of such shunting but congenital and traumatic are by far the most common. Although arteriovenous fistulas have been described throughout the body, the extremities, lung, and brain are the most common sites.

Small lesions may go unrecognized. However, the picture can vary from a simple cosmetic disfigurement to severe local and systemic effects. Local changes include overgrowth of an extremity, ulceration of skin, and eventual loss of function. Systemically, the shunting of blood eventually can lead to cardiovascular failure.

Arteriographic documentation is essential for proper diagnosis and in establishing preoperatively the main arterial and venous structures entering into the malformation. Only in this way can intelligent decisions as to definitiive therapy be made.

[See figure in the PDF file]

The reported cases have been selected to show the broad range of etiology and the varying clinical pictures characteristic of arteriovenous fistula.

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