Radiofrequency for Treatment of Refractory Epistaxis in Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia

Abstract

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia is a rare multi-systemic autosomal dominant disorder characterized by dysplasia of the vascular connective tissue and recurrent bleeding tendency. Epistaxis is the most common and earliest symptom. It is usually mild to moderate, however, in some patients it can be severe with significant interference in quality of life. We report a case of a patient with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, in which an episode of refractory epistaxis was treated with radiofrequency and fibrin sealant. Control of acute bleeding and elimination of telangiectasia was possible with this technique. After six months follow-up, there was no epistaxis recurrence. Various treatments for epistaxis in this disease have been described in the literature, but there is no consensus about the gold-standard procedure. Radiofrequency ablation of telangiectasia is a recent technique that has shown to be safe, effective and well tolerated, even in patients who underwent other previous treatments.