Postoperative aortic injury caused by staple line formed by wedge resection of lung.

We report a case of aortic perforation by the staple line formed by a wedge resection for lung cancer. Six hours after an uneventful wedge resection, sudden frank drainage of blood from the chest tube occurred. Reoperation was performed and we found bleeding from the aorta. After suturing the bleeding spot of the aorta, we found that the stapling line of the lung rode on the aorta with longitudinal contact. We speculated that the stapling line scratched the aorta in sync with breathing and injured the aorta.