Aortic arch replacement and autologous pericardial tracheal patch for an aorto-tracheal fistula.

Aorto-tracheal fistulas are rare and highly lethal, with few reports of successful surgical intervention. We present a 48-year-old man with an aorto-tracheal fistula induced by radiation therapy for tracheal squamous cell carcinoma. He presented with hemoptysis and chest pain and workup revealed the aorta-tracheal fistula between the posterior aortic arch and anterior distal trachea. He was emergently taken to surgery. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an aorto-tracheal fistula successfully treated with a transverse aortic arch replacement and complex tracheal repair using autologous pericardium with an omental buttress.