Segmentectomy for multiple adenocarcinoma presenting as ground-glass opacities after lung cancer surgery

During follow-up of patients after primary lung cancer resections, small nodules or ground-glass opacities (GGOs) are sometimes detected on chest computed tomography. We report a case with multiple GGOs that were noted after primary lung cancer resection. A 76-year-old woman, who had undergone right upper lobectomy, middle lobe partial resection, and mediastinal lymph node dissection 3 years earlier, was admitted owing to five GGOs in the right lower lobe that had been increasing in size or density. A right S6+10 segmentectomy was performed. On histology, one adenocarcinoma and four bronchioloalveolar carcinomas (BACs), as well as two additional BACs that had not been detected preoperatively, were identified. No complications occurred postoperatively. Three years 4 months later, no tumor recurrence or new lesions have been found. Given the high possibility of malignancy, the appearance of new GGOs in patients with a history of lung cancer requires appropriate investigation.