title: Fractured aorta--a case report.
abstract: A 66-year-old, restrained driver involved in a high-speed motor vehicle crash sustained a transmural infrarenal fracture of a circumferentially calcified aorta. Blunt abdominal aortic injury is exceedingly rare, about twenty times less common than its thoracic counterpart, and the current case report is therefore unusual. A high index of suspicion in combination with a suggestive clinical history or examination should prompt diagnostic intervention, as both morbidity and mortality are high.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. rosengar@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rosengart
authors.forename: R Eugene
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Zierler
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000293:injuries*; D001019:Aortic Rupture / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation; D002114:Calcinosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery