A new surgical technique for the treatment of life-threatening congenital arteriovenous malformation--intraluminal graft implantation.

A new surgical intraluminal graft implantation technique was undertaken in a 27-year-old man with a massive, life-threatening, high-flow congenital arteriovenous malformation (AVM) involving the left lower extremity, which was resistant to such challenges as transarterial embolizations or partial resections. For occlusion of the feeder branches, a composite graft composed of two grafts with different diameters, which matched to the arterial lumen, was surgically inserted into the superficial femoral artery. The implanted graft occluded 2 weeks after the insertion. Although amputation distal to the knee was necessary because of the foot necrosis, the graft was useful in reducing the cardiac output (from 14.3 l/min to 9.8 l/min) and obviating hip joint amputation. A further clinical study is necessary to examine whether or not it is an acceptable treatment modality.