Idiopathic renal arteriovenous fistula demonstrating a huge aneurysm with a high risk of rupture: report of a case

Abstract

This paper reports a case of an idiopathic renal arteriovenous fistula demonstrating a huge guitar-shaped aneurysm, which required a total nephrectomy. Although the patient insisted on having been asymptomatic, echocardiography and cardiac catheterization clearly revealed that the influence on hemodynamics was unexpectedly significant. Interestingly, the aneurysm was also considered to have a high risk of rupture, which was preoperatively suggested by an aneurysm wall projection discernible on both computerized tomograms and angiograms, and this suspicion was also convincingly supported by the perioperative and histopathological findings.