The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 51, 317-319, Copyright © 1991 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Delayed death from aortic root trauma
IB Boruchow and GM Hutchins
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Miami Heart Institute, Florida.
A 40-year-old man suffered blunt chest trauma, had a myocardial infarct 58
days later, and died unexpectedly 19 days after that. Autopsy showed
partial avulsion of a small branch of the right coronary artery with
thrombus extending into the right coronary sinus of Valsalva occluding the
right coronary artery and causing a myocardial infarct. Death was caused by
a thromboembolus arising from the aortic root thrombus and occluding the
left main coronary artery. The case is unusual in that the major
consequences of the aortic root trauma were delayed, and death resulted
from occlusion of both coronary arteries.