Rare late complications of femoral arteriovenous fistulas following cardiac catheterizations: Report of two cases

An arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is a vascular malformation with a direct communication between an artery and a vein and can lead to bleeding, thromboembolic events, aneurysm formation or heart failure. AVF is a rare but potentially harmful complication of cardiac catheterization. The sites of associated artery and vein are important for surgical exposure. We report two cases of femoral AVFs following diagnostic cardiac catheterizations with rather interesting extensions, originating from right deep femoral arteries and draining into right superficial femoral veins in both cases. The tracks were divided and the defects on deep femoral arteries and superficial femoral veins were primarily sutured. Symptoms of the patients, which were mainly edema and pain, relieved after surgeries. Both the patients were discharged without any complications. During cardiac catheterization, the cardiologist should master the anatomy of the femoral puncture site to avoid the complications which can be hazardous and life-threatening such as AV fistula.