What's wrong with this lung lobe? If you planned to remove it, which surgical approach would you use?

Question

What is wrong with this lung lobe, and what surgical approach would you use to perform a lung lobectomy?

Answer

This dog has a right middle lung lobe torsion, note the torsion on the pulmonary hilus.

To be able to easily access the pulmonary hilus the best approach is an intercostal thoracotomy at the 4th or 5thintercostal space. This being the right middle lung lobe we chose a 5th intercostal space to gain access into the thorax to perform a lung lobectomy using a stapling device.