Acute respiratory insufficiency from an aneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta

A 70-year-old woman presented with life-threatening acute respiratory insufficiency resulting from tracheobronchial compression by a large calcified expanding aneurysm confined to the descending thoracic aorta. This combination has not previously been reported. Successful surgical correction was carried out. This report describes in detail the presentation, diagnosis, and steps involved in the management of this entity.