Incomplete Situs Inversus Revealed by Acute Pain of the Right Hypochondrium

Abstract

Situs inversus is an abnormal placement of the thoracic and/or abdominal organs that are inverted right/left from normal. It is a rare congenital malformation often discovered in childhood. In adults, it can lead to misdiagnosis. Clinical case: A 35-year-old female patient, seen in a hepatogastroenterology consultation for acute spontaneous pain in the right hypochondrium. She had no particular clinical history. A diagnosis of hepatopathy was suspected. Abdominal and pelvic CT scans showed the left liver, stomach and spleen in the right hypochondrium, but with the heart in place, suggesting incomplete situs inversus. The evolution in our patient was spontaneously resolved with analgesics and antispasmodics, which leads us to believe that the volvulus was probably partial and without other complications. Conclusion: In developing countries, antenatal diagnosis of situs inversus is rare and is usually made during a pathology that leads the patient to a medical consultation. CT is one of the key paraclinical examinations for its diagnosis as genetic tests are not widely available.