General health check-up, accidentally discovered rare isolated lung

Patient Nguyen TK (57 years old, residing in Hoa Tho Dong ward, Cam Le district, Da Nang city) discovered a lesion in the lower lobe of the left lung by chance during a general health check-up. 20 years ago, the patient had pneumonia, which was treated well and now often causes tingling pain in the left back area.

BSCKII Than Trong Vu examines patient K before discharge.

On the CT scan of the chest blood vessels, a lesion located in the lower lobe of the left lung, measuring 32x45mm, has a blood vessel supplying directly from the thoracic aorta with a diameter of about 11mm and venous blood draining directly into the left lower pulmonary vein.

The patient was diagnosed with pulmonary sequestration in the lower lobe of the left lung. The patient's other tests were within normal limits. The patient was scheduled for surgical resection of the sequestered lung.

Doctors of the Department of Thoracic Surgery performed surgery to remove the isolated lung using the two-port thoracoscopy technique to help minimize chest wall trauma for the patient. After 2 hours, the doctors successfully removed the isolated lung mass along with a part of the parenchyma of the left lung lobe, preserving as much of the remaining lung parenchyma of the lower lobe as possible instead of removing an entire lobe.

Directly performing surgery on Mr. K, Dr. Than Trong Vu, Head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Da Nang Hospital, said that this patient's case was quite challenging because the isolated pulmonary artery was large. The patient was also elderly, with a risk of brittle artery walls and increased risk of bleeding, so absolute caution was required.

Thanks to the meticulousness and good coordination of the surgical team, the doctors successfully removed the isolated lung mass, preserving maximum lower lobe lung parenchyma. Currently, patient Nguyen TK's health is stable and he is preparing to be discharged from the hospital.

Dr. Than Trong Vu said that pulmonary sequestration is a rare congenital disease, accounting for 0.1% of congenital lung lesions. The disease is diagnosed in infancy, while in adults, pulmonary sequestration is rarely diagnosed. The progression of pulmonary sequestration can lead to recurrent pneumonia, lung abscess, cancer, severe bleeding that threatens the patient's life, heart failure due to increased cardiac output...

“This case demonstrates the important role of regular health check-ups, not only to screen for common diseases but also to detect potential congenital abnormalities. From there, early diagnosis and treatment can be made to avoid possible complications,” Dr. Than Trong Vu advised.

Hai Chau

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/tin-tuc/kham-suc-khoe-tong-quat-vo-tinh-phat-hien-phoi-biet-lap-hiem-gap/20250414110810633