Leriche syndrome in a patient with situs inversus totalis

Abstract

Situs inversus is a rare congenital defect defined by a mirror image anatomic variation of the thoracic and abdominal organs. In this situation, abdominal aortic surgery may become particularly challenging. This is the case of a 51-year-old man, who presented with an incapacitating lower limb claudication. On his workup, a complete occlusion of the infrarenal aorta requiring surgical revascularization was found. Additionally, a situs inversus totalis was identified along with a single horseshoe kidney. The patient underwent uneventfully a surgical aortobifemoral interposition. The sole modification to the standard procedure regarded the graft limbs tunneling, which was performed in a prerenal pathway in the retroperitoneal space, thus avoiding iatrogenic injury to the anteriorly positioned iliac veins. Although challenging, conventional aortic surgery can be safely accomplished in patients with situs inversus totalis.