Abstract
Background Variations in pulmonary venous anatomy should not be undermined by thoracic surgeons
during procedures which involve the pulmonary veins.
Methods We have identified vascular anomalies in 25 of 346 patients undergoing video-assisted
thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy at our Thoracic Surgery Unit, between December 2016
and November 2018.
Results Some vascular anomalies described have not been reported in recent literature and
include right V7 draining into the middle lobe pulmonary vein, accessory right V6 behind the bronchus intermedius, two V6 from the apical segment of left lower lobe, two V6 from the apical segment of right lower lobe, and one of them draining into the superior
pulmonary vein.
Conclusion Thoracic surgeons should be aware of this type of anomalies because failure in the
preoperative or intraoperative identification of the pulmonary venous variations may
lead to serious complications.
Keywords
thoracoscopy/VATS - lung cancer - pulmonary venous drainage
