Twenty-seven cases of traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta have been operated on in the cardiovascular and thoracic surgery unit at the Catholic University of Louvain: 10 acute ruptures and 17 chronic false aneurysms. The disproportion between the two groups indicates that the acute pathology tends to remain unrecognized, probably because of major associated injuries that can mask the aortic rupture at the time of trauma. To increase the number of cases of acute traumatic rupture of the aorta successfully diagnosed, the diagnosis should be suspected and a routine aortography should be done in every patient who has sustained a high-speed deceleration injury.
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