Aortic graft-enteric fistula and paraprosthetic-enteric fistula: a review.

AGEF/PPEFs are infrequent, life-threatening complications of aortic reconstructive surgery. Early diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion. Whenever a patient with an aortic prosthesis develops gastrointestinal bleeding or manifestations of sepsis, the presence of a fistulous complex should be assumed until proven otherwise. In the vast majority of cases, adequate surgical management requires graft excision with extraanatomic bypass. Widespread retroperitoneal infection precludes any attempt at local revascularization.