Unusual pulmonary vein variant in a patient with right upper lobe lung cancer

Abstract

It is essential to understand individual pulmonary anatomy, and the relationship between the tumor and surrounding organ, when lung resection is conducted. Recently, many anomalous pulmonary venous variations have been detected using three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT). Herein, we report the case of a 62-year-old women with lung cancer and an anomalous right upper lobe pulmonary vein that drained into the left atrium between the pulmonary artery and bronchus. Preoperative 3D-CT clearly demonstrated the anomalous pulmonary vein, and we safely performed lung resection by thoracoscopic surgery. Therefore, 3D-CT images can help ensure the safety of patients with aberrant vasculature during lung resection.