Fracture of the connecting bar of a stent graft in the thoracic aorta: A diagnosis by echocardiography

Stent-graft implantation is a very interesting and promising therapeutic option, alternative to conventional open operation, for the treatment of the diseases of the thoracic descending aorta. Several studies demonstrated encouraging results about the effectiveness of this technique both in the chronic settings and in acute scenarios, 1-3 although complications related to this treatment are also well recognized. In particular, complications can arise if great attention is focused on the perigraft leak, which, with an incidence estimated between 2.4% and 45.5%, represents the most common complication. On the other hand, little information is actually available about other rare, but not less important, stent-related findings and about their clinical significance.(4) In this case report we describe a rare case of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) diagnosis of rupture of the connecting bar of the graft.