Case of Prenatal Diagnosis of a Fetal Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformation at Term

TL;DR

A rare case of a fetal pulmonary arteriovenous malformation diagnosed at term and successfully treated with surgery and segmentectomy.

Contribution

Highlights the importance of prenatal diagnosis and surgical intervention for fetal pulmonary arteriovenous malformations.

Findings

Prenatal diagnosis at 40 weeks enabled timely surgical removal of the malformation.

Postoperative recovery was successful, with the child developing normally.

Early intervention is crucial for favorable outcomes in such rare cases.

Abstract

In our case, the malformation was diagnosed prenatally at 40 weeks of gestation, and at the age of 14 days, the malformation was removed combined with a segmentectomy of the sixth segment of the left lung. Preoperative diagnostics focus on 3D-CT reconstruction and detailing of the anatomical variations of all arterial and venous vessels, as evident from our case. Treatment includes surgical removal or a minimally invasive interventional approach through the embolization of the vessel afferent to the malformation. After the operation, the child was discharged on the 30th day after birth in good condition and is developing normally. Early operative intervention is of great importance for the favorable outcome of the condition. In our case, this was hypoxemia with a saturation of 70-75%. The rare and often missed prenatal diagnosis of fetal AV malformation is significant for the adequate postnatal treatment and development of affected children.

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