[Spontaneous complete rupture of the thoracic aorta. Apropos of a case surgically treated with success]

The authors report the case of a 74-year-old hypertensive man hospitalised with chest pain accompanied by shock and hemo-mediastinum. The diagnosis of spontaneous rupture of the thoracic aorta, suspected by aortic arteriography, was confirmed by thoracic CT scan with injection of contrast medium. Emergency surgery revealed a 4 cm longitudinal linear tear of the horizontal aorta, with neither dissection nor aneurysm. Simple suture during extra-corporeal circulation with normothermia and the heart beating, was successful after prolonged postoperative intensive care. This case of complete and spontaneous acute rupture of the horizontal thoracic aorta appears to be the first to have been successfully treated surgically.