No abstract

Most surgeons select SG for traumatic thoracic aortic ruptures, irrespective of associated injuries, injury severity, and age. SG is associated with significantly lower mortality and fewer blood transfusions, but there is a considerable risk of serious device-related complications. There is a major and urgent need for improvement of the available endovascular devices.

FVIIa therapy lead to an immediate reduction in coagulopathic hemorrhage in most cases, accompanied by a significant improvement in laboratory measures. Application of FVIIa as a therapy of last resort makes the identification of equivalent control patients difficult. Use of FVIIa should be considered for any patient with coagulopathic hemorrhage in which surgically-accessible bleeding has been controlled. Prospective trials of FVIIa in patients with traumatic coagulopathy are strongly indicated, and should focus on appropriate patient selection and the dose and timing of therapy.

Comparison between the two AAST studies in 1997 and 2007 showed a major shift in the diagnosis of the aortic injury, with the widespread use of CT scan and the almost complete elimination of aortography and TEE. The concept of delayed definitive repair has gained wide acceptance. Endovascular repair has replaced open repair to a great extent. These changes have resulted in a major reduction of mortality and procedure-related paraplegia but also a significant increase of early graft-related complications.

Delayed repair of stable blunt TAI is associated with improved survival, irrespective of the presence or not of major associated injuries. However, delayed repair is associated with a longer length of ICU stay and in the group of patients with no major associated injuries a significantly higher complication rate.

All blunt traumatic aortic injury does not necessitate repair. Stratification by injury grade and secondary signs of injury identifies patients appropriate for medical management. Grade IV injury necessitates emergency procedures and carries high mortality. Grade III injury with secondary signs of injury should be urgently repaired; patients without secondary signs of injury may undergo delayed repair. Grade I and II injuries are amenable to medical management.

Prognostic study, level III.

It is understood that penetrating cardiac trauma is a highly lethal injury and those surviving to hospital have an overall mortality approaching 80%. Reported mortality figures vary widely and are extremely dependent on mechanism of wounding, cardiac chambers involved and possibly the presence of cardiac tamponade. Despite significant advances in prehospital care, operative techniques, and intensive care management, the mortality has not changed over several decades. This article will review the anatomic regions of concern for a cardiac injury, clinical presentation, and physical findings. The need for an expeditious evaluation and modalities available including, plain radiographs, sub-xiphoid window, and echocardiography will be considered. Options for surgical exposure, technical details of repairing cardiac injuries, and special circumstances such as injury adjacent to a coronary artery and intra-cardiac shunts are discussed in detail. Outcome data and future directions in managing this challenging injury are also examined.