title: Anomalous right upper lobe venous drainage.
abstract: Lung resections are usually not associated with significant bleeding, but can be fatal, especially in cases of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Anomalous vascular structures could be a major reason for unexpected bleeding in such surgeries. We present a case of an aberrant upper lobe pulmonary vein that was encountered posterior to the right upper lobe bronchus during a right upper lobectomy via thoracotomy. The anomalous pulmonary vein was identified preoperatively on a computed tomography (CT) scan and hence was looked for before dividing the bronchus. Many centres are adopting the VATS approach for performing lung resections. If an anomalous vein is present posterior to the bronchus, it might be in a blind spot and could be damaged inadvertently, leading to profuse and potentially fatal bleeding. We conclude that the identification of anomalous vascular structures prior to surgery with the help of CT helps in avoiding adverse outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Republic of Ireland munirtarazi@rcsi.ie.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tarazi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mayooran
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Philip
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Anjum
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Regan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Doddakula