The Cabrol fistula is an important tool for the thoracic aortic surgeon to have in the toolbox. We found the Cabrol fistula to be extremely effective at controlling bleeding, with no late persistent fistula flow and no late false aneurysm formation. Without the fistula, outcome in these patients would likely have been lethal. We recommend the Cabrol fistula technique strongly for life-saving application in rare cases of bleeding uncontrollable by conventional methods.