Right upper lobectomy performed as dividing posterior ascending artery-bronchus-pulmonary vessels is alternative to primary indolent scar carcinomas

We describe a case of pulmonary indolent malignancy requiring a strategic surgery and introduce an alternative technique of right upper lobectomy via video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for primary lung cancer patients. A 42-year-old male non-smoker was referred to the hospital following the detection of an opacity with a cystic airspace in the right upper lobe during a routine physical examination. During a regular follow-up over 3.5 years, the solid component enlarged and the cystic wall thickened. Based on a suspicion of indolent scar carcinoma, a right upper lobectomy was performed using VATS. The preoperative diagnosis was clinical T1bN0M0, stage Ia primary lung cancer. Our surgical procedure, posterior single-direction aBVA, consists of dividing the posterior ascending artery branch and then the right upper bronchus, followed by the right upper pulmonary vessels. By efficiently reducing the operation time and blood loss, our method is potentially superior to conventional right upper lobectomy.