Int J Angiol 2008; 17(4): 211-213
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1278312
Case Report

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Arteriovenous malformation of the pancreas: A case report and review of literature

Fadi Makhoul1 , Paramjeet Kaur2 , Thomas D Johnston3 , Hoonbae Jeon3 , Roberto Gedaly3 , Dinesh Ranjan3
  • 1University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
  • 2Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, USA
  • 3Division of Transplantation, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
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Publikationsverlauf

Publikationsdatum:
28. April 2011 (online)

Abstract

Extrahepatic arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are rare and mostly asymptomatic congenital anomalies. The present case describes a 45-year-old woman with an AVM in the head of the pancreas, which caused massive GI bleeding that recurred after embolization, and which was subsequently treated with a pylorus-preserving Whipple pancreaticoduodenectomy. The authors then review the available literature pertaining to AVMs of the GI tract, the diagnostic modalities that have been used to identify them and the treatment approaches that have been described to date, which range from coil embolization of the feeding artery to radical resection of the affected organ. It is important to remember that these lesions shunt blood between the high-pressure arterial system and the low-pressure portal system, which leads to the much dreaded consequence of portal hypertension.