Immediate endovascular repair for descending thoracic aortic transection secondary to blunt trauma

Purpose: To report the immediate endovascular treatment of a thoracic aorti c tear secondary to blunt trauma. Methods and Results: A 39-year-old man was injured in a motor vehicle colli sion. In addition to significant trauma to the head, chest, and abdomen, th ere were signs of a deceleration injury to the thoracic aorta. After urgent celiotomy to repair a lacerated spleen, the thoracic aortic transection wa s treated intraluminally using an endograft made of Gianturco Z-stents cove red with polytetrafluoroethylene. The patient recovered from his injuries, and the thoracic endograft shows no evidence of endoleak 7 months after tre atment. Conclusions: Endoluminal techniques can be used successfully in the immedia te repair of thoracic aortic injuries.