Thoracoscopic resection of pulmonary sequestration in 4-week-old infant

Pulmonary sequestration is an uncommon anomaly in which an aberrant systemic vascular supply and a lack of communication with the bronchial tree leads to a nonfunctioning segment of lung parenchyma. Although the lesion may be asymptomatic, surgical resection is indicated because of the possibility of infection, high-output congestive heart failure secondary to arteriovenous shunting, and compromise of normal lung volume. The traditional approach to an intrathoracic lesion has been through a standard thoracotomy. Video-assisted thoracic surgery, or thoracoscopy, has only rarely been applied to this problem. However, improvements in technology have challenged the limits of thoracoscopy in infants. We present a case of a successful thorascopic resection of an extralobar sequestration in a 4-week-old infant. To our knowledge, this is the youngest patient in whom this procedure has been described.