An isolated azygos vein rupture from blunt chest trauma

Abstract

We report a case of isolated traumatic rupture of the azygous vein. A 33-year-old female suffered blunt chest injury from the airbag explosion in a car accident. Initial examination revealed decreased breath sounds in the right chest. Computed tomography showed a massive right hemothorax without evidence of rib fracture or great vessel injury. An emergency exploratory thoracotomy was performed due to massive hemothorax with unstable vital signs. A laceration in the anterior wall of the azygos vein was identified. Bleeding was controlled by double ligation at the injury site. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 7 without any sequelae.