Balloon Embolization for Treatment of Pulmonary Arteriovenous Fistulas

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations associated with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia are often multiple and may enlarge with time.¹ Shunt-induced hypoxemia is surgically correctable when the lesions are solitary or localized to one or two lobes.² When surgery is contraindicated the therapeutic options are limited. We wish to describe a patient with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia in whom multiple balloons were embolized into eight pulmonary arteriovenous malformations to correct severe shunt-induced hypoxemia. Case Report A 55-year-old man with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia noted the onset of dyspnea in January 1979 and was hospitalized for evaluation of its progression in March 1979. The chest film showed. . .