[An arteriovenous fistula following laminectomy--sonographic diagnosis]

In a 36-year-old woman, 10 years after laminectomy, a tentative diagnosis of arteriovenous shunt between the right iliac artery and vein, a rare complication of this procedure, was made on the basis of ultrasonographic findings. The signs consisted of dilatation of the iliac vein and of the inferior vena cava, a vascular bruit and tactile fremitus in the abdomen. In addition, cardiac enlargement and slight tricuspid and mitral incompetence in the absence of cardiac insufficiency were noted. After angiographic verification of the diagnosis the anomaly was corrected surgically.