What happened, in summary

A 77-year-old woman sought medical care for cough and back pain. A CT scan found a roughly 2-centimeter nodule in the upper part of her right lung. A needle biopsy showed lung adenocarcinoma, and scans did not show spread to lymph nodes or distant organs.

In December 2024, she had surgery to remove the right upper lobe of her lung along with nearby lymph nodes. During the operation, the surgical team discovered an unusual blood vessel connection between a pulmonary vein and artery. The connection had not been visible on routine preoperative imaging, but it was carefully controlled and divided without causing bleeding.

Final pathology showed a 2.1-centimeter mixed lung tumor made up mostly of adenocarcinoma, with a smaller neuroendocrine cancer component. The lymph nodes were negative, and the cancer was classified as Stage I.

Her recovery was complicated by a slow heart rate during surgery, temporary lung collapse after surgery, and a heart attack on postoperative day 4. These problems were treated in hospital. She later returned to the ward and remained clinically stable at 8-month follow-up.