Isolated injury of the proximal vertebral artery associated with blunt chest trauma.

A patient who had sustained blunt trauma of the chest was admitted for evaluation and treatment. A thoracic aortogram was obtained to exclude mediastinal vascular injury, and an incomplete intimal disruption of the proximal left vertebral artery was found. Transient visual disturbances developed after admission, and the patient was treated by operation and vein patch angioplasty. He recovered without additional neurologic symptoms. The vertebral artery can be divided descriptively into four sections, and each section is commonly associated with particular types of injuries. This is the first reported case of an isolated injury to the proximal extraosseous portion of the vertebral artery caused by distant blunt trauma.