Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula ruptured in an adolescent girl 1 week after her mother’s rupture: a report of a case

A 14-year-old girl was diagnosed with hemothorax associated with pulmonary arteriovenous fistula rupture, and emergency surgery was performed. One week before her surgery, her mother at 32 weeks of gestation underwent emergency surgery for hemothorax caused by pulmonary arteriovenous fistula rupture. Both were diagnosed with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. The indications for treatment of pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas in young patients remain controversial because the risk of complications concerning pulmonary arteriovenous fistula is lower in young patients than in adult patients. We recommend that aggressive treatment should be performed for pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasis with a family history of pulmonary arteriovenous fistula rupture even if the patient is asymptomatic and young, because such patients may have a high risk of pulmonary arteriovenous fistula rupture.