A spinal perimedullary arteriovenous fistula treated by Walter Dandy and illustrated by Dorcas Hager Padget in 1934.

Abstract

Dorcas Hager Padget was a renowned neurosurgical illustrator and neuroembryologist. She collaborated closely with Walter E. Dandy, founder of the field of vascular neurosurgery, from 1928 until his death in 1946. In 1934, Hager Padget created an unpublished illustration accurately depicting a spinal perimedullary arteriovenous fistula (pmAVF) despite the fact that the exact nature of the lesion would only be described 43 years later. The illustration portrays the patient's myelopathic symptoms and pmAVF treatment by ligation and resection of a venous pouch located at the fistula site, indicating Dandy's early understanding of the lesion's architecture. Whether the illustration was created for a publication that fell to the wayside or exclusively for Dandy's patient history records remains unknown.