Conservative treatment of uterine arteriovenous fistula

A case of a uterine arteriovenous aneurysm in a 20-year-old woman is described. The patients's main symptom was copious uterine bleeding. The diagnostic difficulties are described and the importance of arteriography is emphasized. The aneurysm was occluded at laparotomy by introducing gel-foam into the uterine artery. The patient subsequently became pregnant and after an uneventful pregnancy was delivered of a healthy child. Thus, this type of conservative treatment seems to offer a possible means of avoiding hysterectomy in young patients with this rare condition who wish to retain their fertility.