Traumatic Pseudoaneurysm of the Descending Thoracic Aorta

Abstract

A 39-year-old man presented with complaints of chest pain, dyspnea, and cough after a long-distance flight. He gave a history of having been involved in a major traffic accident 20 years ago in which he was run over by a truck, which resulted in extensive musculoskeletal injuries that necessitated several operations. He had been experiencing intermittent chest pain and dyspnea for 2 years. At the emergency department, a large upper-mediastinal mass was found on chest radiography (Figure, panel A). CT showed a large thoracic aortic aneurysm, and the patient was referred for cardiovascular MRI before surgery. This revealed a large …