Endovascular Thoracic Aortic Repair for Catheter Associated Aortic Injury During Thoracostomy Tube Placement

Aortic injuries during non-aortic related procedures are rare but potentially catastrophic. Endovascular aortic repair has been described as a viable option in similar circumstances. However, most reports involve aortic injury from orthopaedic hardware after spine surgery or trocar injury during abdominal surgery.

This is a report of a thoracic aortic injury during thoracostomy tube placement and summary of the management paradigm. The patient was treated with a thoracic stent graft and was seen at four-month follow up, with imaging showing the endograft in stable position.

Endovascular stenting can increase the treatment scope for management of emergent thoracic aortic pathology.