Classifying the destination of right top pulmonary vein in 31 clinical cases

Disruption in the flow of blood vessels is of great concern during thoracic surgery. Preoperative 3-dimensional computed tomography facilitates visualization of the exact location and course of blood vessels. The right posterior upper lobe segmental vein, known as the right top pulmonary vein (RTPV), is an anomalous vein beginning at the right upper lobe and running through the posterior surface of the intermediate bronchus. We clinically investigated 31 patients with RTPV who underwent lobectomy or total resection of the right lung in our hospital or related institutions. We classified the final destination of RTPV into four types. The RTPV flowed into the left atrium in 35.5% of cases, superior pulmonary vein in 9.7%, inferior pulmonary vein in 41.9%, and independently into V6 in 12.9%. An RTPV with a diameter ≥ 5 mm was considered a main drainage vein in S2. We should pay attention to the RTPV during right lung lobectomy.