Table 1_Concealed right upper lobe pulmonary venous variants on 3D-CTBA: morphological characterization and surgical implications.xlsx

Introduction<p>The surgical anatomy of the right upper lobe pulmonary vein is variable and rare anomalies often go unnoticed in the first intraoperative exposure.</p>Methods<p>3D-CTBA reconstructions were performed on 307 right-sided contrast-enhanced chest CT data with full segmentation of the arterial, venous and bronchial systems.</p>Results<p>Anomalous right upper lobe vein anatomy was detected in 23 cases (7.49%) consisting of 18 right top pulmonary veins (RTPVs) and 5 cases of proposed cranially displaced central vein (CDCV).

In all 18 RTPVs, a single venous trunk collecting S2 drainage followed a retrobronchial course posterior to the right main bronchus or bronchus intermedius. Thirteen drained directly into left atrium. The other five had translobar confluence with the inferior pulmonary vein system; one drained first into V6 before joining the inferior pulmonary vein.