Young girl presenting with heart failure 5 years after laparoscopic appendectomy. Case report of an ilio-iliac AV fistula.

Kuehnl, A; Zimmermann, A; Pongratz, J; Eckstein, H-H · Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg · 2010

case_report · Level V

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Abstract

Secondary arteriovenous (AV) fistulae following appendectomy are very rare. We report the case of a 15-year-old girl suffering from progressive heart failure and sub-acute abdominal pain caused by an ilio-iliac AV fistula 5 years after a complicated appendectomy. The vessel-wall defects were closed by open surgery and the aneurysmatic iliac vein was gathered. Open fistula repair should be recommended to healthy and/or young patients, especially when they are not fully-grown. Endovascular treatment should be the therapy of choice in high-risk patients or patients with local contraindications against open surgery.

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