Left-sided perforated appendicitis in a patient with situs inversus totalis, a case report

Abstract

Situs inversus, an uncommon disorder, causes the orientation of asymmetric organs to be opposite to that of normal anatomy. It can be either partial, affecting only the thoracic or abdominal cavities, or full, involving the transposition of both the thoracic and abdominal organs. A 31-year-old Ethiopian male patient presented with migratory abdominal pain in the left lower quadrant for 3 days. Associated with the pain, he experienced symptoms of nausea, vomiting of ingested matter, and loss of appetite. Investigations were consistent with left-sided appendicitis with situs inversus totalis. Therefore, the patient was operated on and discharged with no perioperative complications. Appendicitis is a rare cause of left lower quadrant pain. In order to reduce the delay in patient treatment and avoidable perioperative complications, emergency physicians, radiologists, and surgeons must become more knowledgeable about situs inversus and left side appendicitis.