General Abdominal Surgery in Patients with Situs Inversustotalis

Abstract

In this article, we revisit the basic concept of SIT and review recently published articles on both changing trends in diagnostic and treatment modalities for SIT and notes for treating patients with SIT. Surgery in patients with SIT remains a technical challenge for the surgeon; however, it also remains extremely rare and is usually not encountered more than once in a surgeon’s lifetime. Accurate modification to the standard protocol for general abdominal surgery is generally required to treat patients with SIT.  Also, given the low, but real, incidence of associated gastrointestinal conditions, surgeons strongly favor preoperative evaluations to clearly delineate the anatomical variation because, generally, the contralateral disposition of the important organs demand an accurate dissection and exposure of the individual structures to avoid iatrogenic injures.  These considerations, when paid appropriate heed, make a surgical approach not only safe, but also expedient, and can ensure the optimal treatment in patients who have these special instances of common disease processes.