Uterine arteriovenous malformation diagnosed with multislice computed tomography: a case report

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the uterus are extremely rare and occur either in congenital or acquired form. The most common clinical presentation is abnormal uterine bleeding, which may be aggravated by therapeutic curettage.

A case of uterine AVM diagnosed by means of multislice computed tomography (CT). The 37-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency department complaining of hypermenorrhea that had been occurring for the last 5 years. She had undergone multiple currettages for incomplete abortions in the past. Transabdominal ultrasonography demonstrated thickening of the wall of the uterine corpus with numerous cystic lesions. Dynamic CT and CT angiography were useful for detecting and characterizing the pathology in this case. Numerous anomalous blood vessels communicating with the right and left uterine arteries were found in the wall of the uterus and in the parametrium. Uterine and ovarian arteries were enlarged, with early filling of veins on CT angiography. Whole extent of the vascular abnormality was very well depicted by the CT images and CT angiography. The diagnosis of uterine AVMs was thus made noninvasively.

This noninvasive technique elegantly demonstrates the uterine AVMs and should be performed to diagnose and to determine the true extent of the malformation, particularly when Doppler ultrasound is inconclusive.