Osler-Rendu-Weber syndrome: congenital arteriovenous intrapulmonary fistula treated using a percutaneous Amplatzer plug
Pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas (PAVFs) are rare vascular malformations (PAVMs) of the lung that could lead to severe hypoxiemia due to right-to-left intrapulmonary shunts. They may occur as isolated entities or associated with Osler-Rendu-Weber syndrome or hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). We report a case of a 70 years old woman with Rendu-Osler-Weber disease and a large arteriovenous malformation involving the left pulmonary artery. We describe the successful transcatheter occlusion of the PAVF using an Amplatzer vascular plug. This work is an attempt to focus the attention on pulmonary arteriovenous malformations and on percutaneous treatment as an alternative to surgery, that consists of a conservative lung resection.