Right upper lobe lung cancer: Resection through left anterior mediastinotomy

There is sparse information concerning approaches to metachronous lung cancer in patients who had a previous pneumonectomy for lung carcinoma. We describe the case of a 55-year-old woman who underwent a left pneumonectomy for lung carcinoma. Four years later, a radiological examination revealed a hypermetabolic nodule in the right upper lobe, which was located in the left hemithorax because of right lung hyperinflation and a mediastinal shift to the left. Wedge resection was carried out through a left anterior mediastinotomy. We believe that an anterior mediastinotomy represents a valuable option for the management of recurrent lung cancer after previous surgery.