Anesthetic considerations for cesarean delivery in a parturient with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: a case report

BACKGROUND: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), also known as Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome, is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by mucocutaneous telangiectasia and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). There are some anesthetic considerations for cesarean delivery in a parturient with HHT. CASE PRESENTATION: A 27-year-old parturient with pulmonary hemorrhage was admitted to our tertiary perinatal center. She was first diagnosed with HHT and a cesarean delivery using spinal anesthesia at 37 weeks of gestation was initially planned. However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 32 weeks of gestation revealed spinal AVM ranging from the thoracic to the lumbar levels. Thus, elective cesarean delivery under general anesthesia was planned. The parturient had an uneventful perioperative course. CONCLUSIONS: HHT should be considered as a differential diagnosis when parturients develop pulmonary hemorrhage. In a cesarean delivery of parturients with HHT, spinal MRI during pregnancy can help in deciding the anesthetic procedure to be used.