[Endovascular therapy of non-aneurysmatic infrarenal aortic rupture]

Endovascular therapy is being used increasingly also to treat ruptured infrarenal aortic aneurysms. Non-traumatic rupture of non-aneurysmatic infrarenal aorta is an absolute rarity.

The feasibility of endovascular repair of infrarenal aortic rupture is demonstrated with a case history and a literature review.

A 58-year-old male developed spontaneous rupture of his infrarenal aorta after successful chemotherapy resulting in regression of a periaortic tumor. The patient suffered from a sepsis for several days before aortic rupture was discovered during computed tomography for focus search. Immediate endovascular stent-graft repair was performed under emergency conditions. There is no recurrence and the patient is doing well with the stent-graft in place without any pathological finding after a follow-up of 24 months. So far only three further cases have been reported of endovascular repair for penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer with rupture of the infrarenal aorta.

This is the first report of endovascular repair of aortic rupture due to successful chemotherapy of a periaortic mesothelioma. Furthermore, this is the fourth case of successful stent-graft placement to treat non-aneurysmatic rupture of the infrarenal aorta. Minimally invasive endovascular therapy should become a standard treatment option for aortic rupture.