ABSTRACT
Although surgical treatment of patients on anticoagulation regimens is common practice among oral and maxillofacial surgeons, unexpected and unknown coagulopathies can have devastating and catastrophic consequences for the most routine of procedures. Acquired hemophilia A (AHA) is an extremely rare life-threatening bleeding disorder characterized by autoantibodies directed against circulating coagulation factor VIII. The effects of AHA can produce catastrophic bleeding and hematomas. The effect of this uncontrolled hemorrhage after dentoalveolar surgery can mimic severe head and neck infection by causing dysphagia, odynophagia, and acute airway complications. This report describes the case of a 64-year-old woman who was diagnosed with AHA after routine extraction of the mandibular left third molar.
