Unilateral absence of the left pulmonary artery accompanied by right lung cancer.

Unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery is a rare congenital anomaly that is often accompanied by other cardiovascular anomalies. Surgical treatment for this rare disease is usually performed only on the abnormal side. We report on a case of unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery that was complicated by contralateral primary lung cancer. We performed a right middle lobectomy despite the absence of the left pulmonary artery and detected changes in respiratory function during the operation. The present case provides information on the surgical tolerability and predictable morbidity following lung resection of the normal side in unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery. Copyright 2010 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.