Hemoptysis as a presenting symptom of a distal aortic arch aneurysm and its repair via an L-shaped thoracotomy.

A 61-year-old man presented with multiple episodes of hemoptysis. A computed tomography scan revealed a 70-mm saccular aneurysm of the distal aortic arch. During a surgical repair via a midline sternotomy and a left thoracotomy, a saccular aneurysm was found to protrude into the lung, which had chronically healed. The patient underwent replacement of the Dacron graft, and he recovered well postoperatively. This experience prompted us to report the findings of this unique case.