An 80-year-old man died of rupture of the thoracic aorta 3 months after surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Autopsy revealed that multiple penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers with intramural hematoma had resulted in psudoaneurysm of the abdominal aorta and dissection of the thoracic aorta. Differentiation from common aortic aneurysm or classic aortic dissection is important because pseudoaneurysm and aortic dissection related to penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer have a higher risk of rupture.
