Successful use of recombinant factor VIII devoid of von Willebrand factor during multiple teeth extractions in a patient with type 3 von Willebrand disease

Abstract

We report a 55-year-old patient with type 3 von Willebrand disease who underwent multiple tooth extractions with successful hemostatic management using recombinant factor VIII. The patient was previously misdiagnosed and treated incorrectly then at 53 years old, he was diagnosed with type 3 von Willebrand disease. As he had avoided dental treatments for two decades due to severe bleeding after dental extraction, multiple severe caries and marginal periodontitis were revealed. The patient refused the use of blood products in hemostatic management because he was afraid of blood-borne diseases and development of anti-von Willebrand factor alloantibodies. After close consultation, we therefore decided to use recombinant factor VIII. Four teeth extraction procedures were executed twice. Before extraction, bolus recombinant factor VIII (50 IU/kg) was administered intravenously followed by continuous infusion (5–10 IU/kg per h) for approximately 48 h. The factor VIII:C level increased from about 1 to 20–32% 30 min after bolus infusion. During continuous infusion (10 IU/kg/h), factor VIII:C was maintained at more than 10%. Little bleeding occurred during and after the multiple teeth extractions and during suture removal. On frequent examinations during a 1-year follow-up, neither von Willebrand factor nor factor VIII inhibitors were detected.