Pulmonary vein anatomical variation during videothoracoscopy-assisted surgical lobectomy.

PURPOSE: Anatomical variations of pulmonary veins, even though not rare, have important role, especially in patients undergoing lung surgery. We present a case of a single common pulmonary venous drainage of the left upper and lower lobe of the lung.

METHOD/RESULT: The common trunk of the left superior and inferior pulmonary vein was misidentified as an inferior pulmonary vein, and it was transected during surgery.

CONCLUSION

The surgeon must always be aware of this anomaly and carefully verify the normal anatomical structures before dividing them while performing an upper or lower lobectomy.