Surgical Management of Congenital Arteriovenous Fistula near Lateral Cranial Base

An arteriovenous fistula is an aberrant communication between an artery and a vein. Here is a case in which risk factors including multiple fistulae, dangerous location, and high-flow blood occurred simultaneously. The patient is a 13-year-old boy diagnosed with bilateral arteriovenous fistulae between the jugular vein and carotid artery separately, with cardiac dilatation and pulmonary artery hypertension. We performed right arteriovenous fistulae resection, ligated the involved small vessels, and tightened the internal jugular vein. The tiny left arteriovenous fistulae were treated with transarterial embolism. The blood flow bruit and swelling of his neck completely disappeared, with clear improvement of his life quality, the pulmonary artery pressure has dropped from 54 mmHg to 39 mmHg. Surgery is one of the main therapies of arteriovenous fistula currently, we need to make a balance between good effect and low risk, aiming at early treatment to avoid serious complications.