Percutaneous treatment of rare iatrogenic arteriovenous fistulas of the lower limbs

Postoperative iliac and popliteal arteriovenous fistulas are extremely rare . This article describes the percutaneous endovascular treatment of iatroge nically induced arteriovenous fistula in two patients with simultaneous use of intravascular ultrasound. In a 61-year-old woman, a fistula between pop liteal artery and vein, inadvertently created during implantation of a pros thetic knee joint, was treated with a novel polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) s tent graft. A 48-year-old man underwent endovascular treatment of a large f istula between the right common iliac artery and the left common iliac vein , inadvertently induced during surgery on an intervertebral disc, Congestiv e heart failure induced by the arteriovenous communication was reduced rapi dly, Our results indicate that percutaneous treatment in conjunction with i ntravascular ultrasound is a useful therapeutic option for vascular lesions , It is less invasive than open vascular reconstruction and has a comparabl y high success rate.