Aorto caval fistulas

The purpose of this paper is to examine and assess the outcomes following open repair in 39 patients who experienced aorto-caval fistula (ACF) resulting from the spontaneous rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

We reviewed the clinical records of all patients surgically treated with open repair for ACF at the Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery of the Serbian Clinical Center in Belgrade, Serbia, from January 2012 to February 2023. All of the patients in this series were consecutive and had aorto-caval fistula from AAA. No patients were excluded from the procedure due to the life-threatening nature of the state. A follow-up assessment was performed during the follow-up examination or by telephone interview with the patient or a family member.

All patients were male, with mean age 67.4±8.3 years (range: 52-83 years). The 30-day mortality rate in our cohort was 35.9%, with three (7.7%) intraoperative deaths, and 11 deaths in the postoperative period (28.2%). A total of 25 patients out of 39 (64.1%) in the original cohort have survived the surgery and the postoperative period and were followed-up for a total of 67.1 person-years. The mean follow-up was 3.7±2.2 years (range 0.25-8.4 years). Two patients (8.0%) died during the follow-up, 16 patients (64.0%) survived, and seven (28.0%) were lost to follow-up. The long-term mortality rate in the cohort that survived the postoperative period was 3.0/100 person-years.

ACF caused by spontaneous AAA rupture into the inferior caval vein or iliac veins is a relatively rare, life-threatening condition which requires prompt treatment. An exact preoperative diagnosis is essential for perioperative strategy. As the comparison of our results with the results from contemporary literature indicates, wherever possible endovascular repair should be considered since it results might be superior to open repair.