Ectopic right bronchus: indication for bronchography

Abstract

Ectopic right-sided bronchus is a rare anomaly. In this retrospective study, eight patients are described. All were from a population that clinically was suspected of suffering from chronic bronchitis. In one patient, the ectopic bronchus was missed on bronchoscopy but not on bronchography; in the other seven patients bronchoscopy and bronchography both revealed the ectopic bronchus. The first patient had a persistent inhomogeneous consolidation only in the ectopic area with extensive bronchiectasis; one patient had slight bronchiectasis; the other six patients had none of these pathologic alterations. Only in the first patient did the anomaly have therapeutic consequences, as there was an extensive bronchiectasis. In patients with a persistent inhomogeneous consolidation, only on the site of the apical segment of the right upper lobe may an ectopic bronchus with extensive bronchiectasis be suspected. In such patients, a bronchographic examination is indicated.