Aortic Blunt Trauma

What Will You Learn?

• The Aortic Blunt Trauma course provides an essential, case-driven exploration of one of the most time-sensitive and high-stakes vascular emergencies. Through this focused program, you will develop the clinical awareness, diagnostic precision, and technical skills required to manage traumatic thoracic aortic injuries in both acute and subacute settings. By the end of this course, you will be able to:
• Recognize the mechanisms and clinical presentation of blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI), including high-risk trauma patterns and associated polytrauma scenarios
• Interpret trauma imaging (CTA, portable chest X-ray, FAST scans) with attention to indirect signs of aortic disruption and injury grading
• Apply the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) BTAI grading system to guide urgency, treatment modality, and monitoring strategies
• Plan and perform endovascular repair (TEVAR) in the trauma setting, including considerations for rapid access, landing zone limitations, and spinal cord protection
• Manage multi-system injuries, working within trauma teams to balance the timing of aortic repair with orthopedic, abdominal, and neurologic priorities
• Recognize and respond to complications, such as hemodynamic instability, stroke risk, endoleaks, and delayed aortic rupture
• Understand conservative vs. interventional management, including when to defer repair in favor of stabilization
• Review current evidence, guidelines, and outcome data, including insights from major trauma registries and recent multicenter studies
• Engage in multidisciplinary case reviews, drawing from trauma surgery, vascular surgery, emergency medicine, and critical care
• This course is designed for trauma surgeons, vascular and cardiac surgeons, emergency medicine physicians, interventional radiologists, and trauma team members who play a role in the diagnosis and management of aortic injury after blunt trauma.