Pathologic Features of Lone Aortic Mobile Thrombus in the Ascending Aorta

This report describes the case of a 79-year-old man with aortic mobile thrombus in the ascending aorta, followed by a discussion of the pathologic basis of aortic mobile thrombus formation. The patient underwent replacement of the ascending aorta. Macroscopic examination revealed an aortic wall ulcer with cholesterol-rich atherosclerotic plaque under the aortic mobile thrombus. Microscopic examination showed plaque rupture. These findings are very similar to those of plaque rupture in the coronary artery. We speculate that plaque rupture of localized aortic atherosclerosis is one of the causes of aortic mobile thrombus. (C) 2016 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons