2005 Volume 19 Issue 7 Pages 874-880
A 20-year-old female was referred to another hospital because of hemoptysis. Chest CT showed an aberrant artery arising from the thoracic aorta and supplying the left basal segment, but the bronchial tree was normal. Aortogram and MRI angiography demonstrated flow from the aberrant artery to normal left lung vein and absence of the left lower lung artery except for A6. Based on these findings, we diagnosed this case as having an anomalous systemic arterial supply to the normal basal segment of the left lower lobe. We performed a left lower lobectomy and closure of the anomalous systemic artery by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). The aberrant artery measuring 13mm in diameter coursed along the left pulmonary ligament into the left lower lung from the descending aorta. The patient had uneventful postoperative course and was discharged on postoperative day 8. We collected reports of 32 cases of similar anomalies in Japan and discussed the characteristics of this disease and technical problems of closure using surgical stapling devices.
