Pulmonary sequestration in adulthood: clinical-morphological study

The aim of the study was to evaluate pulmonary sequestration (PS). We report on location, blood supply, histology, clinical manifestation, and surgical treatment of PS, as well as on postoperative course in patients with PS.

PS is a rare congenital defect of the lower respiratory tract, it represents locus minoris resistentiae of the body. Occasionally, PS is diagnosed for the first time in adulthood.

We evaluated 7 cases of PS treated at the Centre of Thoracic Surgery in Vyšné Hágy, Slovakia, between years 2013 and 2020.

Four of our seven patients were asymptomatic; the PS was found incidentally upon chest imaging. Three patients had recurrent bronchopneumonia related specifically to the intralobar type of sequestration. The most significant complication, observed in a singular patient, was a life-threatening episode of haemoptysis, requiring urgent surgical intervention. In the other 6 cases, the sequestra were surgically resected during the period when they were asymptomatic. and their sputum was confirmed negative upon microbiological examination. Anatomical resection of the affected pulmonary lobe by thoracotomy was the most common type of operation performed (4 cases, n = 7). There was no surgical mortality.

To prevent complications, it is crucial to perform surgical treatment for pulmonary sequestration in patients who have sufficient functional capacity (Tab. 2, Fig. 4, Ref. 30). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: pulmonary sequestration, anatomic lobectomy, haemoptysis.