Idiopathic inferior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula: a rare cause of pulsatile abdominal mass.

Inferior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is an extremely rare vascular abnormality which may be idiopathic or secondary to previous trauma or surgery, and it may result in portal hypertension or ischemic colitis if left untreated. Imaging can help accurately diagnose visceral AVFs and create a vascular map to display the feeding artery and draining vein before the surgery; however, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography of inferior mesenteric AVF is not well documented in the literature. In this article, the authors report a case of inferior mesenteric AVF in a 48-year-old woman evaluated for left-sided abdominal pain and diagnosed preoperatively by MDCT angiography. Surgical excision of the AVF was successfully performed, and the postoperative course was uneventful.