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Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the endovascular treatment of acute post-traumatic thoracic aorta rupture. Rupture of the thoracic aorta is caused in a majority of cases by blunt trauma of the chest as a result of motor vehicle accident. Hypovolemic shock due to massive hemorrhage leads to death in almost 90% of victims. Nowadays the treatment of choice is endovascular procedure with stent-graft, which quickly seals the rupture site., Methods: Forty patients with post-traumatic rupture were treated in our department. In 92.5% of them, the aneurysm appeared after a road traffic accident. In all cases but one it was located below the left subclavian artery., Results: All patients underwent surgery. One-hundred per cent technical success was observed with no device failure. Six patients (15%) died in the postoperative period. All fatalities were attributable to severe generalized trauma, not to the endovascular procedure. In early postoperative follow-up we saw no serious stent-graft related complications, such as spinal cord ischemia. Nine patients (22.5%) were operated later on, due to other organs trauma. In one case (2.5%), in which the endograft was deployed below the left subclavian artery, the patient suffered from stroke, requiring conservative treatment. One early type IA endoleak was diagnosed and sealed by proximal extension. Among the patients still being followed for up to 14 years, 82% remain asymptomatic, without evidence of endoleak or stent-graft migration on angio-CT. Two type IA endoleak were found due to stent-graft infolding: one was solved with balloon-plasty, the other with a proximal extension., Conclusions: Endovascular procedure in traumatic rupture of descending aorta is the method of choice. Endovascular procedures have a lower mortality and morbidity than open surgery.

Aim: Chronic traumatic thoracic aneurysms are results of blunt trauma of the chest during motorcar accident. Treatment of choice is the endovascular procedure with stent-graft., Methods: Between 2000-2012 in General and Thoracic Surgery Department 30 patients with post-traumatic aneurysms were operated. In all cases aneurysm was located below left subclavian artery and in 63% developed during road traffic accident., Results: All patients were operated on with 100% technical success and no device failure was noticed. None of patients died during the endovascular procedure and no serious complications like spinal cord ischemia was observed. In one (3%) case, where left subclavian artery was covered, stroke was diagnosed treated conservatively., Conclusion: At long-term follow-up, one endoleak type IA was found, solved with balloon-plasty. Two patients died due to cardiac diseases.