Purpose: To analyse and summarize branching pattern types of the interlobar portion of right pulmonary arteries (RPA) through chest thin-slice CT scans and three-dimensional reconstruction.
Methods: A total of 179 patients (58 males and 121 females, with an average age of 53.9 years) at the Thoracic Surgery Department of Ningbo First Hospital were retrospectively included from December 2020 to December 2021. All patients completed preoperative thin-slice CT scans and three-dimensional reconstructions of the chest. The clinical data and branching patterns were collected. Data were analysed using SPSS 21.0.
Results: The branching pattern types of the interlobar portion of RPA were divided into 4 types according to the order and number of branches: Type I (145/179, 81.0%), Asc. A2, MA, A6; Type II (28/179, 15.6%), Asc. A2 deletion, MA, A6; Type III (5/179, 2.8%), Asc. A2, A6, MA; and Type IV (1/179, 0.6%), MA, Asc. A2, A6. Type I was the most common pattern. Furthermore, according to the number of branches of MA and A6, this pattern can be subdivided into 15 subcategories.
Conclusion: Chest thin-slice CT scans and 3D reconstructions can provide surgeons with accurate lung anatomy, which helps surgeons perform preoperative planning and complete surgery successfully.
Keywords: Anatomy; Computed tomography; Early non-small cell lung cancer; Pulmonary artery; Three-dimensional reconstruction.
© 2022. The Author(s).