Acute traumatic tear of the base of the brachiocephalic artery after blunt trauma: report of a rare case and review of the literature

Abstract

This report describes a patient who presented to our institution after a high-speed motor vehicle accident with an abnormal superior mediastinum as shown on supine chest radiograph. Helical computed tomographic aortography and thoracic aortography revealed the patient to have a pseudoaneurysm in a rarely encountered site, in the anterolateral region of the right brachiocephalic artery. The imaging features of this case and the relevant literature are reviewed.