What happened, in summary

A 70-year-old man was found to have a small right upper-lung nodule during a physical examination. Imaging suggested an early primary lung cancer and also revealed partial anomalous pulmonary venous return, an unusual vein draining part of the right lung directly into the superior vena cava. Because he also had emphysema and reduced lung function, the surgical team chose a lung-sparing approach. He underwent robot-assisted removal of the right S3 segment. Final pathology showed invasive papillary adenocarcinoma, classified as Stage I, with no lymph-node involvement. He recovered without major postoperative complications and left hospital on day 6. One year after surgery, there was no evidence of lung-cancer recurrence and no new respiratory or right-sided heart-failure symptoms.