A diagnostic dilemma: does peri stent-graft air after thoracic aortic endografting necessarily imply infection?

The radiographic finding of air bubbles around a surgically placed prosthetic graft is traditionally assumed to be a sign of infection until proven otherwise. Direct delivery of atmospheric air bubbles, shown in an imaging study performed very soon after a surgical intervention, or percutaneously introduced during an endovascular procedure could be possible causes of air bubble presence and not necessarily infection. However, if air around a prosthetic aortic graft is identified in an imaging study after a previous one did not document its presence, or if the amount of air is increasing on serial imaging studies, the suspicion level should increase. The case presented here is of a 49-year-old male who underwent an endovascular repair of a possible symptomatic penetrating aortic ulcer, who was found to have peri stent-graft air 3 weeks after intervention. Previous imaging postoperative studies did not reveal air around the aortic prosthesis. The diagnosis of endovascular stent-graft infection was very difficult due to several challenging factors that are herein presented.