Hereditary Haemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) Clinic

Phone:: 416-813-5826

About the Clinic

Hereditary Haemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), is a rare condition, affecting both children and adults. HHT is a congenital disorder, involving the growth of abnormal blood vessels (arteriovenous malformations or AVMs) in almost any organ in the body.

Children with this disorder frequently (but not always) have abnormal blood vessels in their nose, leading to nose bleeds (epistaxis), or in the skin, forming small red “blood” spots (telangiectasia).

The major clinical concerns, however, are that these abnormal blood vessels can form in the lungs, brain, and gastrointestinal tract. These AVMs can weaken and rupture, causing bleeding into the lung (coughing up blood), gastrointestinal tract (vomiting blood, or blood in stool) and into the head (causing stroke). These complications are rare, and the vast majority of these children have no symptoms, but are referred to the clinic because of a family history (another member of the family already identified with this disorder).

We are the major paediatric HHT clinic in Canada, working in collaboration with the adult HHT clinic at St. Michael’s Hospital, under the direction of Dr. Marie Faughnan, to identify adults and children with HHT, and prevent the consequences of these abnormal blood vessels.

Patients must be referred by a Physician or Surgeon.

How to make a referral

All patients require a referral to visit our clinic.
If you are a health-care professional, log in to eCHN to submit your referral. From your eCHN account, you will be seamlessly connected to SickKids e-referral platform, EpicCare Link.
Learn more about our referral process.
For urgent referrals only (same day referrals), contact eCHN’s Helpdesk directly 416-813-7998 or 1-877-252-9900, or by email at helpdesk@echn.ca. On weekends and after 6 p.m. on weekdays, please contact the Fellow on call via SickKids Locating at 416-813-1500.

Useful websites for information on HHT:

More information:

Visit Respiratory Medicine

Coming to a clinic appointment

It's important to come prepared and be on time for a clinic appointment. Visit Coming for Clinic Appointments to read appointment guidelines that are applicable for most clinical appointments at SickKids.

You’ll find information on how to prepare and what to bring, what to do if you/your child are sick before your appointment or you need to cancel, and important things to know about the SickKids philosophy.