title: Stent-graft repair for blunt traumatic aortic injury: functional and survival outcomes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Traumatic aortic injury is usually lethal, most often because of serious associated wounds. The short- and midterm outcome of endovascular exclusion was assessed as the current treatment of choice due to a lower mortality and morbidity than open surgical treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the cases of 8 patients (5 male, mean age 33 years) undergoing endovascular repair of a traumatic thoracic aortic lesion, confirmed by computed tomographic angiography, at our centre. Most patients showed a contained lesion limited to the aortic isthmus and severe associated injuries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intrahospital mortality was 37.5% (N.=3) and mostly due to posttraumatic brain injury (N.=2). Most patients were hemodynamically stable at the time of endovascular repair (N.=6). The median time to surgery was 12 hours (3-48 hours). The endografts used were TAG® (W.L. Gore and Associates, Flagstaff) in three patients, and Valiant® (Medtronic, Santa Rosa, CA) in four. The technical success rate was 100%. In one case, the left subclavian artery was occluded without signs of arm ischemia. There were no cases of paraplegia or stroke related to treatment. No revision procedures were needed during follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Endovascular repair shortly after injury seems to be effective and safe with a low associated morbidity and mortality.
authors: Service of Angiology and Vascular Surgery, San Carlos Clinical Hospital, Madrid, Spain. saragonzalezsanchez@gmail.com
authors: S
authors: S
authors: González Sánchez
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Martín Conejero
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Moñux Ducajú
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Martínez López
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Hernando Rydings
authors: F J
authors: FJ
authors: Serrano Hernando
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015607:Stents; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult