2016 Volume 62 Issue 7 Pages 330-335
Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are rare congenital anomalies of vascular morphogenesis. AVMs are frequently identified at birth, but their presentations vary and diagnosis is often delayed until later in life. AVM of the tongue is extremely rare, and treatment is difficult owing to site-specific characteristics of the disease. We report a case of AVM of the tongue that deteriorated during pregnancy. It had increased in size during pregnancy, and the patient had a check-up at her previous hospital. Postpartum, she was treated by embolization. However, the tongue enlarged and caused uncontrolled bleeding. Therefore, she was transferred to our hospital. We performed embolization of the main nutrient artery three times, but hemorrhage from the tongue did not stop. Finally, we performed surgical resection and free-flap reconstruction. The postoperative course was uneventful without complications, and her swallowing and speech functions were restored not to disturb daily life by rehabilitation. There has been no sign of recurrence as of 3 years 9 months postoperatively.
