Pediatric blunt abdominal aortic injury and the use of intra-operative aortic ultrasound for surgical decision making

Traumatic injury has been the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population, but injuries to the abdominal aorta are rare. We reviewed 2 children who underwent exploratory laparotomy for blunt aortic injury in which intra-operative ultrasound guided the surgical approach. Intra-operative ultrasound allowed us to minimize resection of normal aorta and achieve primary repair. In the pediatric population, achieving primary repair is ideal, as synthetic grafts will likely need future revisions as children grow. Here we present the use of intra-operative ultrasound in maximizing the chance at primary repair of the aorta following blunt injury.