Traumatic diaphragmatic and aortic rupture: an emerging challenge.

We report a case of traumatic diaphragmatic and aortic rupture in a 27-year-old man after a vehicle accident. The patient underwent successful aortic replacement with a prosthetic graft and diaphragmatic suture. The patient died one month later secondary to rupture of the infected graft. Acute traumatic aortic rupture (TAR) and blunt diaphragmatic rupture (BDR) are life-threatening complications of blunt chest trauma; more than 80 % of patients with these lesions die at the site of accident and only a very small percentage of cases are transferred alive to the emergency unit. In patients with major blunt trauma, aortic rupture and diaphragmatic rupture must be systematically included in the differential diagnosis.