Portosystemic arteriovenous fistulas.

The authors report the angiographic demonstration of arteriovenous fistulas in three patients. The fistula was believed to be spontaneous in one case, related to abdominal surgery and to abdominal trauma in the other two cases. The importance of angiography in the diagnosis and evaluation of this disease has been emphasized in the literature. Early diagnosis is valuable, either to prevent hepatic damage or to give an opportunity for recovery once it has taken place. Follow-up of the three patients has shown that hepatic function notably improved after surgery.