Abstract

Acute traumatic rupture of the aortic isthmus constitutes a major challenge for the cardiovascular surgeon. The traditional management of this pathology has been, in most cases, repair of the injury as soon as possible. Although techniques in aortic surgery have improved over the years, morbidity and mortality rates still remain high. The high death rate is often the result of the associated injuries that may be present in the patient who has experienced major trauma.

We present here the case of a patient with acute thoracic aortic rupture who underwent emergency operation successfully.

We discuss here the diagnostic methods which are supposed to be precise and rapid (clinical suspicion, computed tomography scan, transesophageal echocardiography), as well as the therapeutical options.

Keywords

acute traumatic rupture, polytrauma, aortic isthmus, CT scan, emergency surgery