Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Situs Inversus Totalis Patients: A Case Report

Laparoscopic surgery has been around in the general surgery world for a long time. It has revolutionized how conventional surgeries used to be carried out. Performing laparoscopic surgery , there is a faster recovery time, complications are less likely, and a significantly lower bleeding and hemorrhage-related risk in these patients. However, some surgeries are still carried out in the traditional ‘open’ way. One major reason for this is the lack of skilled professionals available to carry out such complicated cases alone or the fact that some surgeries provide better access to the surgeons when carried out traditionally. This case study revolves around two patients, both of which presented with situs inversus. Situs inversus is a congenital condition where the majority or all of the organs present in the chest and abdomen mirror their normal physiological positions, that is, they are present in the opposite direction of where they normally should be. Since the condition revolves mainly around the ‘position’ of the major body organs and does not usually involve any defect or malfunctioning in their ‘function’, it is usually seen that the affected people are capable of living on their own, without any complications affecting their lives. However, this was not the case with both of the patients that are being discussed in this case study. Both of them developed cholelithiasis. Their case was already bound to face complications owing to their condition - situs inversus. But, due to the presence of efficient and skilled surgeons working on the case, it was seen that laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed on both of these patients. Whether this surgery was carried out successfully or led to further complications is the focus of this paper. Along with that, this study also aims to revolve to look at the diagnostic measures that led to effectively diagnosing the condition in these patients affected by situs inversus.