Gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma with situs inversus totalis: case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Situs inversus totalis (SIT), a rare congenital anomaly, is characterized by a complete mirror image transposition of the thoracic and abdominal viscera. We report the case of a 66-year-old woman with SIT who was diagnosed with gastric antral carcinoma. Curative distal gastrectomy with Billroth-I anastomosis was performed. Description of the case: A 66-year-old woman visited our outpatient department complaining of abdominal pain in the left upper quadrant for about one year. Physical examination revealed that the apex beat was in the right fifth intercostal space, just at the midclavicular line while a soft systolic murmur was audible at the upper right sternal border. The abdominal examination was unremarkable. The preoperative diagnosis was confirmed by gastroscopy and biopsy. Preoperative echocardiogram revealed the presence of dextrocardia and atrial septal defect. Preoperative contrasted computed tomography showed a complete right-left reversal of the thoracic and abdominal organs and thickened wall of gastric antrum without distant metastasis. Laparotomy through a midline incision confirmed the complete mirror-image transposition of the abdominal visceral organs and a 4-cm tumor with serosal involvement at the gastric antrum. Curative distal gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy and Billroth-I anastomosis was performed. The patient had a rapid recovery and was discharged without any complications. The final staging of this case was pT4aN1M0, stage IIIa and she received chemotherapy with the SOX regimen for three cycles. Fifteen months after the operation, the patient is alive without any signs of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of gastric cancer with SIT is very rare. Appropriate diagnostic modalities are very helpful for the diagnosis and preoperative planning. Gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy in patients with SIT can be performed successfully with sufficient preoperative evaluation, comprehensive knowledge of anatomy, and meticulous surgical manipulation. Caution should be given to the possibility of coexisting cardiopulmonary malformations and synchronous cancers. Hippokratia 2015; 19 (4): 360-362.