Cerebral arteriovenous fistula in the Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome.

A 12-week-old girl presented with cutaneous haemangiomata and hemihypertrophy of the chest and right upper extremity--stigmata of the Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome. Screening cranial CT-scan followed by cerebral angiogram revealed what is believed to be the first reported occurrence of a cerebral arteriovenous fistula in a patient with this syndrome. Craniotomy and clip application successfully obliterated the fistula. Although rare at present, neurovascular involvement in the Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome may be found more frequently with the newer non-invasive diagnostic methods for screening these children. Such findings may strengthen the putative classification of this syndrome within the group of primary mesodermal (vascular) phakomatoses.