Management of Patients with Factor VII Deficiency in Surgery: A Single-center Experience

Factor VII deficiency is a rare condition characterized by a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes, from asymptomatic status to severe, life-threatening bleeding, such as central nervous system or gastrointestinal bleeding. Factor VII deficiency is usually diagnosed after a bleeding attack or as a result of screening tests performed in cases with a family history. Importantly, bleeding may also occur in patients with a factor level of 20% to 50%. This report describes the approach to management before, during, and after surgery used in 5 patients with varying factor levels. The use of recombinant factor VIIa (15-30 mu g kg) was required in 3 of the patients. No bleeding or thromboembolism was observed in any of the 5 patients.