Combined Ectopic Variation of the Right Upper Pulmonary Vein and Bronchus

Abstract

Ectopia of the right upper pulmonary vein (RUV) is rare and sometimes combined with tracheal bronchus. Such anomalies can affect surgical procedures. We report the case of a 66-year-old woman with lung cancer in which preoperative three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction and intraoperative images displayed a combined ectopic variation of the RUV and bronchus. The RUV was absent from the anterior hilum, but instead was present in the superior and posterior hilum dispersedly. In addition, the right upper lobe bronchus was ectopic to the lower edge of the "bronchus intermedius." Based on this discovery, video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy was successfully performed.