Arteriovenous Aneurysm Following Surgical Operations

Numerous reports concerning arteriovenous fistulas have appeared in the literature and for the most part have been concerned with those arising as a result of war wounds or from injuries incurred in civilian life, notably from bullet and stab wounds. It is not generally recognized that any trauma in which an artery and a vein are coincidentally injured may give rise to the condition. It is our purpose in this paper to call attention to the fact that this lesion may result from a surgical operation and to report an instance in which it followed a hysterectomy. The first report of an arteriovenous fistula was made by William Hunter1in 1762. His 2 cases, which were classically described, followed injury of the brachial vessels as a result of bloodletting. The literature on the subject in the century following Hunter's communication contained many descriptions of similar cases not only in