Irene Asouhidou1,2, Theodoros Karaiskos3, Konstantinos Natsis4. 1. Department of Anesthesiology, G. Papanikolaou Hospital, 15-17 Agiou Evgeniou str, 55133, Thessaloniki, Greece. iasouh@aol.com. 2. Department of Anatomy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. iasouh@aol.com. 3. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, G. Papanikolaou Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. 4. Department of Anatomy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Abstract
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.
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.