Management and Outcomes of Blunt and Penetrating Traumatic Aortic Injuries in Children

Our study reviewed the management and outcomes of pediatric aortic injuries at our institution.Patients 18 years old with traumatic aortic injuries (2010-2023) were identified after retrospective review of a level 1 trauma center registry.Out of sixteen patients (mean age = 13.3 years), majority suffered blunt mechanism (62.5%) and were managed by endovascular repair, open repair, resuscitative thoracotomy, or anticoagulation alone.Penetrating injuries underwent endovascular repair or attempted open repair via exploratory laparotomy and/or resuscitative thoracotomy.Mortalities occurred <24 hours of presentation.Operative and endovascular repair had no complications at follow up and was associated with excellent long-term outcomes.