Grade I traumatic aortic injury progression

This case highlights the importance of diagnosing Grade I aortic injuries after trauma. Although the prognosis for minimal aortic injury is typically quite good, the patient in this case suffered the unlikely complication of minimal intimal injury progression with resultant thromboembolism and massive stroke. Due to motion artifact and CT resolution limitations, the initial aortic injury was not detected. Thus, potentially life-saving measures such as serial CT monitoring of injury, blood pressure control, and endovascular repair were unable to be performed. This is a demonstration of the unfortunate complications of minimal aortic injury.