Role of indocyanine green in anomalous arterial supply to the normal dorsobasal segment of the lung

BACKGROUND: Anomalous systemic arterial supply to normal basal lung segments is a rare congenital malformation, in which aberrant arteries arising from the systemic circulation flow into the basal segment of the lung and return to normal pulmonary veins without abnormal bronchial branching. It presents a left-to-right shunt, resulting in volume overload of the pulmonary circulation, and consequently, pulmonary hypertension. Therefore, nearly all cases require surgery. Herein, we present a case, in which indocyanine green was used to demarcate the lung segment perfused by an anomalous systemic artery. CASE PRESENTATION: A 15-year-old boy was diagnosed with an anomalous artery originating from the celiac artery and supplying the right dorsobasal lung segment (S(10)). Via three-port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, the anomalous artery was ligated and processed with an auto-stapler. Indocyanine green was injected intravenously to identify the tissue perfused by the anomalous artery, and the lung was resected. CONCLUSIONS: With anomalous systemic arterial supply to normal basal lung segments, indocyanine green can be particularly helpful in identifying the boundaries of the perfused area. Then, the affected tissue can be resected by thoracoscopic surgery. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13019-022-01791-0.