Left upper division segmentectomy with a simultaneous displaced bronchus and pulmonary arteriovenous anomalies: a case report

BACKGROUND: A displaced bronchus is a rare disorder of the left upper lobe. Displaced bronchi are often accompanied by an anomaly of a pulmonary artery, but rarely of a pulmonary vein. CASE PRESENTATION: We here present a patient with primary lung cancer and simultaneous migration abnormalities of the pulmonary artery and vein in a displaced bronchus of the left upper lobe. Previous reports and our findings indicate that anomalies of the pulmonary artery and vein combined with a displaced bronchus of the left upper lobe have the following characteristics: (1) the left main pulmonary artery does not cross the dorsal side of the displaced bronchus; (2) V(1 + 2) returns to the inferior pulmonary vein; and (3) there is an accessory fissure (aberrant fissure) in the segments dominated by the displaced bronchus. CONCLUSIONS: Prevention of intraoperative damage during procedures for a displaced bronchus and pulmonary arteriovenous anomalies requires careful preoperative evaluation and surgical technique with particular attention to the above-listed characteristics.