[Rupture of the descending thoracic aorta following sudden traumatic deceleration injury].

Acute post-traumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta is the second cause of road traffic deaths; 80% of patients die at the scene of the accident. The involvement of its descending portion outside the isthmus is rare and it is estimated to be less than 3%. We report the case of a 60-year old man, victim of road traffic accidents (RTA) whose mechanism was: the motorcyclist was struck by a car; the points of impact included the right upper limb and the chest. This RTA caused a fracture in both bones of the forearm and a rupture of the descending thoracic aorta (ATD). Treatment was based in the first time on the suture of the aortic rupture complemented by synthetic circumferential prosthesis implantation with aorto-aortic anastomosis and in a second time on the application of a screwed plate in the forearm. The outcome was good and the patient was referred to the Department of vascular surgery.