Abdominal aorta injury secondary to closed trauma

Traumatic injury of the abdominal aorta with total interruption of blood flow is uncommon. When there is total obstruction of the artery, the clinical picture is dramatic. The most frequent mechanism is compression due to the safety belt during a car accident. The patients have absent femoral and distal pulses, associated to neuropathy in the lower limbs. We present a case of abdominal aorta injury secondary to closed trauma and review the causes, presentation forms and management of the injury.