Acute thoracic aortic occlusion resulting from complex aortic dissection and presenting as paraplegia.

Acute paraplegia from an aortic occlusion or dissection is a surgical emergency. Prompt recognition and treatment may mitigate irreversible spinal cord injury. Aortography is commonly used when an aortic lesion is suspected as the cause of acute paraplegia. Transesophageal echocardiography is becoming increasingly used for the evaluation of aorta, diagnosing aortic dissection promptly at the bedside, and was able to define the cause of the spinal cord ischemia.