Arteriovenous Fistula Complicating Lumbar-Disk Surgery

IN spite of the frequency of intervertebral-disk operations since the description of the procedure by Mixter and Barr¹ in 1934 it was not until 1945 that the first vascular complication of such treatment — an arteriovenous fistula between the right common iliac artery and the inferior vena cava — was reported by Linton and White.² Studies^{3 , 4} in which surgeons were polled regarding the occurrence of vascular injury during removal of lumbar disks have indicated that it is not so rare as one might expect; the most recent poll⁴ reported 106 vascular complications, including laceration of arteries or veins and traumatic . . .