Between 1988 and 1998, 7 patients with coronary arteriovenous fistulas were treated surgically. Indications for surgery were congestive heart failure and marked left-to-right shunt in association with ischemic heart disease. Long-term follow-up (mean, 99 ± 37 months) was complete and mainly uneventful. Coronary arterio-venous fistulas can be successfully managed by surgery and patients should be treated without delay because complications of an untreated fistula may increase the complexity of the operation.
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