Penetrating abdominal aortic trauma: a report of 129 cases

The clinical presentation, resuscitation, and operative management of 129 patients with penetrating injuries to the abdominal aorta treated between 1960 and 1989 were reviewed. This is the largest reported civilian or military experience with this specific injury; our review of the literature was limited to reports focusing on the detailed analysis of the management and outcome of aortic trauma. Eighty-two percent of patients were in shock; 18 patients (14%) underwent emergency room thoracotomies, with no survivors. Of 46 patients requiring operating room thoracotomies, only 20% survived. All patients underwent exploration. Thirty percent had three or more visceral injuries; only 2% had no concurrent visceral injury. There were associated vascular injuries in 58% of patients, the inferior vena cava being the most frequent (37%). The most significant predictor of death was continued bleeding at operation. Ninety percent of patients with free intraperitoneal bleeding died, in contrast to 35% with a contained retroperitoneal hematoma (p less than 0.001). Aortic injuries were supraceliac in 25% of patients, between the celiac and renal arteries in 25%, and infrarenal in 50%. The respective mortality rates were 70%, 80%, and 47% (p less than 0.05). Repair of the aortic defect was possible in 103 patients (80%). The most common repair was lateral arteriorrhaphy in 53% of patients, followed by end-to-end anastomosis in 15% and prosthetic repairs in 8%. The overall mortality rate was 62%, which is similar to that of previous reports. Despite advances in trauma care, a functioning paramedic system, and the use of aggressive means to obtain aortic control, penetrating aortic trauma remains highly lethal.