Observation May Be Safe in Selected Cases of Blunt Traumatic Abdominal Aortic Injury

BackgroundBlunt traumatic abdominal aortic injury (BTAAI) is a rare lesion, often associated with extensive intraperitoneal injuries. Optimal management remains unclear, including the role of prosthetic aortic graft replacement with concomitant bowel injury and the management of small pseudoaneurysms.MethodsWe reviewed BTAAI cases occurring between 2000 and 2014. Thoracic and isolated iliac artery injuries were excluded. We included patient demographics, mechanism of injury, admission physiology, and reviewed available imaging to characterize aortic injury type and severity.ResultsBTAAI was noted in 16 of 8,751 (0.2%) blunt abdominal trauma patients admitted during the study period. Of these, 56% were males and the median age was 47 years (range, 5–80). Aortic repair was attempted in 7 patients, including 3 open prosthetic aortobi-iliac bypass grafts, 1 endovascular repair, and 2 primary repairs. One patient died before repair. The remaining patients were medically managed for their aortic injury, including 3 with pseudoaneurysm and 3 with large intimal flaps. There were 5 in-hospital deaths (31%) but only 1 attributed to aortic injury. Among patients surviving to discharge, there were no readmissions or delayed deaths. All nonoperative and surgically repaired patients seen in follow-up had stable aortic lesions. No patient with graft or endograft repair had evidence of graft infection on follow-up (median, 52 months; range, 21–121).ConclusionsBTAAI is a rare entity and is associated with high in-hospital mortality, primarily due to associated injuries. Observation of selected small pseudoaneurysms and intimal flaps appear safe. Survival after hospital discharge is excellent, and aortic-related complications are rare. The indications for repair and the role of revascularization with in situ prosthetic graft in the setting of concomitant bowel injuries are not well defined.