Primary arteriovenous fistula between the common iliac vessels secondary to aneurysmal disease.

Arteriovenous fistulas between the common iliac vessels are rare; at the present time, only 56 cases have been reported. Forty-seven (83.9%) of these fistulas were secondary to either trauma or surgery for herniated intervertebral disks and nine (16.1%) were caused by aneurysmal disease. Physical examination is very difficult because only 30% of the patients with iliac artery aneurysms have palpable masses before rupture; approximately 60% of the patients already have ruptures at the time of diagnosis. Therefore a high degree of suspicion is necessary and early use of angiography is commendable. Surgical intervention consists of closure of the fistula, resection or ligation of the aneurysm, and restoration of vascular continuity. The survival rate after elective resection is 93%, whereas the operative mortality rate in patients operated on for ruptured iliac artery aneurysms is 52%.