Shu-Cheng Chou1, Yi-Ming Shyr, Shin-E Wang. 1. Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang Ming University, 10 F 201 Section 2 Shipai Road, Taipei, 112, Taiwan.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pancreatic arteriovenous malformation is very rare, but may cause significant clinical symptoms such as catastrophic bleeding. Herein, we discuss the clinical presentation and management of patients pancreatic arteriovenous malformations. METHODS: The data pool for the analysis was collected from pancreatic arteriovenous malformation cases encountered by our institution and sporadic case reports in the English literature. RESULTS: A total of 89 cases of pancreatic arteriovenous malformation were collected for this study, including 59 cases of arteriovenous malformation in the pancreatic head (62.3 %) and 30 in the pancreatic body-tail (33.7 %). The most commonly associated complications for overall cases of pancreatic arteriovenous malformation were bleeding (50.6 %), pancreatitis (16.9 %), portal hypertension (6.7 %), and pseudocyst (3.4 %). The most common presenting symptom of pancreatic arteriovenous malformation was gastrointestinal bleeding (47.2 %), followed by epigastric pain (46.1 %). Surgery (43.8 %) was the most common treatment for pancreatic arteriovenous malformation cases, followed by transarterial embolization (11.2 %), a combination of surgery and transarterial embolization (10.1 %), and radiotherapy (2.2 %). No intervention was done for 29.2 % of the cases of pancreatic arteriovenous malformation. CONCLUSIONS: Pancreatic arteriovenous malformation occurs most commonly in the pancreatic head; gastrointestinal bleeding is the main symptom. Surgical resection or transarterial embolization appears to be indicated in patients with symptomatic pancreatic arteriovenous malformation.
BACKGROUND:Pancreatic arteriovenous malformation is very rare, but may cause significant clinical symptoms such as catastrophic bleeding. Herein, we discuss the clinical presentation and management of patientspancreatic arteriovenous malformations. METHODS: The data pool for the analysis was collected from pancreatic arteriovenous malformation cases encountered by our institution and sporadic case reports in the English literature. RESULTS: A total of 89 cases of pancreatic arteriovenous malformation were collected for this study, including 59 cases of arteriovenous malformation in the pancreatic head (62.3 %) and 30 in the pancreatic body-tail (33.7 %). The most commonly associated complications for overall cases of pancreatic arteriovenous malformation were bleeding (50.6 %), pancreatitis (16.9 %), portal hypertension (6.7 %), and pseudocyst (3.4 %). The most common presenting symptom of pancreatic arteriovenous malformation was gastrointestinal bleeding (47.2 %), followed by epigastric pain (46.1 %). Surgery (43.8 %) was the most common treatment for pancreatic arteriovenous malformation cases, followed by transarterial embolization (11.2 %), a combination of surgery and transarterial embolization (10.1 %), and radiotherapy (2.2 %). No intervention was done for 29.2 % of the cases of pancreatic arteriovenous malformation. CONCLUSIONS:Pancreatic arteriovenous malformation occurs most commonly in the pancreatic head; gastrointestinal bleeding is the main symptom. Surgical resection or transarterial embolization appears to be indicated in patients with symptomatic pancreatic arteriovenous malformation.