Endovascular stent-graft treatment for a traumatic vertebrovertebral arteriovenous fistula with pseudoaneurysm

Abstract

The rarely occurring vertebrovertebral arteriovenous fistula (VVAVF) is characterized by abnormal direct communications between the vertebral artery or its branches and the neighboring venous system. We present our experience using a stent graft to occlude a chronic, traumatic VVAVF. A 40-year-old woman with dizziness and loud bruits from the occiput underwent digital subtraction angiography (DSA), which revealed a VVAVF with pseudoaneurysm at the C5-C6 level, with retrograde flow from the right vertebral artery. A stent graft was placed across the fistula after balloon dilation. The fistula and pseudoaneurysm disappeared immediately. After 9 months, the patient remained asymptomatic with a patent stent.