title: Diagnosis and management of graft-enteric fistulae.
abstract: During a 7-year period 20 patients underwent operation for a graft-enteric fistula after implantation of an intra-abdominal vascular prosthesis months or years before. Eighteen patients had gastrointestinal blood loss as their first symptom; 12 were in shock on admission. Fourteen patients had a fistula between the proximal anastomosis and the duodenum. Graft excision followed by axillobifemoral bypass was performed in 10 patients and four patients underwent local repair. A fistula between the distal anastomosis and the bowel was found in the remaining six patients and a local repair was carried out. Proximal graft-enteric fistula carries a particularly high postoperative mortality rate of more than 50 per cent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Hospital Dijkzigt, Erasmus University Hospital Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Tilanus
authors.forename: O T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Terpstra
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Smit
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van Urk
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Veen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D004378:Duodenal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007412:Intestinal Fistula / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*