Surgical treatment of esophageal varices caused by an arteriovenous fistula between an artery of the thyroid gland and the submucosal venous network of the esophageal wall.

Abstract

We report a case of esophageal varices caused by an arteriovenous fistula between an artery of the thyroid gland and the submucosal venous network of the esophageal wall. The fistula developed in a 51-year-old woman 24 years after she received subtotal thyroidectomy to treat Graves' disease. At the same time, gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed the presence of uncommon esophageal varices that were limited to the cervical and upper thoracic esophagus. Angiography confirmed the presence of both an arteriovenous fistula of the peripheral residual thyroid gland and the esophageal varices, after which we successfully treated the varices by surgical resection of the fistula.