Traumatic Subclavian Arteriovenous Fistulae

Arteriovenous (A-V) fistulae can be congenital or acquired. Acquired arteriovenous fistulae are met with during war as well as civilian practice as a result of penetrating injuries causing perforation in an artery and a vein which are surrounded usually by a firm sheath like the femoral, carotid or subclavian sheath, resulting in a communication between the artery and the vein. In the past, these fistulae were treated either by ligation of the feeding artery or by quadruple ligation after waiting for the collateral circulation to develop and feed the affected limb. The goal of the modern vascular surgeon, however, is to resume vascular continuity of both artery and vein. We were recently faced with a subclavian arteriovenous fistula and aneurysm caused by a gunshot wound of many years' duration. Searching the literature on a detailed technique for complete repair of such a fistula proved fruitless. Hence, we were thrown upon our own resources. We planned this operation which proved safe and successful. Repair of a subclavian arteriovenous fistula is a challenging piece of surgery. The location of this fistula under the clavical and its proximity and connection to important structures in the neck and the thoracic outlet makes its correction difficult and hazardous. The purpose of this paper is to present this method of safe repair and discuss the pitfalls and safeguards.