Trauma of the Thoracic Aorta.

Thoracic aortic trauma is a relatively rare but cata- strophic event.It may be secondary to several mechanisms: it can be seen after penetrating or iatrogenic trauma.The most frequent cause however is blunt trauma and this chapter will focus on this specific aetiological mechanism.Most of the patients have suffered automobile-related trauma and the associated mortality remains enor- mous.Therefore, thoracic aortic trauma is identified in the advanced trauma life support (ATLS) franchise as one of the eight "life-threatening chest injuries" in the so- called secondary survey.Diagnosis is based on clinical suspicion and techni- cal examinations such as spiral computed tomography, angiography and transoesophageal echocardiography.Classic treatment consists of open surgery, but endo- vascular stent-grafting is becoming more and more popular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]