Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair for Spontaneous Bronchial Artery Rupture: A Case Report

Abstract

A 72-year-old man was brought to the emergency room one day after undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy at a different hospital, complaining of orbital pain. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a mediastinal hematoma, which was suspected to be an iatrogenic perforation of the esophagus; however, this had not been detected by esophagogastroduodenoscopy. The patient was transferred to the emergency room of our hospital, and underwent conservative treatment. However, follow-up chest CT after 1 week revealed an aneurysmal change of the bronchial artery that had expanded. Therefore, we performed urgent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). Postoperative CT showed that the aneurysm had disappeared. The patient was discharged 14 days after the procedure. Herein, we report a case of spontaneous bronchial artery rupture treated with urgent TEVAR with satisfactory outcome. Though there have been many reports of coil embolization as a treatment for ruptured bronchial arteries, the present report demonstrates TEVAR to be an effective option.