Havasupai Indian Reservation waterfall

HHT Program

At a Glance: Our HHT Program

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a complex and lifelong condition causing abnormally formed blood vessels and increasing you or your loved one’s overall clot risks. What’s more, HHT can affect multiple organs, which means it can call for multiple specialists.

At the Barrow HHT Program, we understand visiting different doctors at different practices can feel overwhelming and be challenging to coordinate. That’s why our collaboration with Arizona Pulmonary Specialists to form the Barrow HHT Program enables you or your loved one to see an integrated team of specialists who work together in close proximity, under one health care system. In fact, our comprehensive approach to managing hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia has earned us the distinction as the only HHT Center of Excellence in Arizona as designated by Cure HHT and one of only three in the Mountain West region.

The HHT Patient Journey

Learn more about the specialists involved in your HHT journey at Barrow

The Barrow Difference

As an international leader in neurosciences, we provide world-class care, advanced diagnostics, and cutting-edge research for HHT’s neurological aspects, including brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). And to treat all of the other parts of the body affected by HHT, we’ve teamed up with experts across Dignity Health to form our comprehensive Barrow HHT Program.

Because HHT can affect multiple organs, individuals often need to see a variety of specialists in short succession. Our program takes a team approach to managing this condition, providing you or your loved one with the full spectrum of care within a one-mile radius. Not only does this reduce burdensome commuting time, it provides a truly seamless care experience. 

Our specialties include neurosurgery, neuroradiology, vascular and interventional radiology, neuro-intensive care, genetics, gastrointestinal/hepatology, pulmonology, cardiodiagnostics, and cardiac catheterization. 

arteriovenous malformation

Neurosurgical Expertise

The recurrent, highly complex nature of AVMs in HHT can make them difficult to manage. Because of this, our neurosurgeons have amassed the expertise to treat even the most challenging AVMs in the brain and spinal cord. Our vascular neurosurgeons see a high volume of patients with AVMs, some of whom travel across the globe to have surgery at Barrow.

HHT Center of Excellence

The Barrow HHT Program is the only Center of Excellence recognized by Cure HHT in the state of Arizona and one of only three in the Mountain West region. 

Cure HHT—the nation’s leading advocacy organization for the disease—recognizes centers equipped with the personnel, expertise, commitment, and resources to provide comprehensive evaluation, treatment, and education to individuals with HHT and their families. 

Expertise in ENT Surgery

Nosebleeds occur in approximately 90 percent of adults with HHT. Not only can nosebleeds, or epistaxis, be bothersome and inconvenient, but they can lead to iron deficiency and anemia or become life-threatening in severe cases. Our ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists in the Department of ENT and Skull Base Surgery at Barrow can help alleviate recurrent nosebleeds while simultaneously improving your quality of life.

click the cure hht logo to visit the cure hht website
Barrow is recognized HHT Center of Excellence by Cure HHT
medical team analyzing results on a laptop

Active in HHT Research

In an effort to better understand and treat HHT and its related AVMs, we’re performing ongoing clinical and laboratory research.

The Oh Laboratory focuses specifically on HHT; studying the molecular and cellular processes that lead to the formation of AVMs and then using those models to assess potential therapies in the laboratory setting. We’re also collaborating with the National Institutes of Health and the Brain Vascular Malformation Consortium funded by the NIH to understand even more and develop new therapies.

Michael Lawton, MD

It’s fitting that we are now the HHT Center of Excellence in the region. We look forward to seeing patients with this diagnosis and delivering the best care to them.

Michael T. Lawton, MD President and CEO, Barrow Neurological Institute
Joseph Zabramski, MD

The Barrow HHT Program will provide an opportunity to further expand our ongoing laboratory and clinical research programs as we look to better understand this disease and advance treatment.

Joseph M. Zabramski, MD Emeritus Professor of Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute

Location

Barrow Neurological Institute campus in 3D

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