Liver transplant in complete situs inversus: a case report

Several technical solutions have been proposed for patients with situs inversus (SI) needing liver transplantation. This report describes the hepatic replacement in a patient with complete SI with dextrocardia. In the only other reported patient with complete SI the donor right lobe was placed over the vertebral column and the stomach to align the donor cava with that of the recipient.

A 45-year-old woman with complete SI, suffering from Laënnec's cirrhosis with frequent upper gastrointestinal hemorrhages, underwent transplantation in June 1991. The recipient weighed 48.2 kilograms and was 155 centimeters tall. The donor weighed 77.3 kilograms and was 188 centimeters tall. The weight of the native liver was 1934 grams, and the donor liver weighed 1595 grams.

At hepatectomy of the native liver an intact vena cava was left behind. Donor liver was rotated 90 degrees to the left, making the donor left lobe point into the left iliac fossa and the donor right lobe fall into the recipient hepatic fossa. Donor infrahepatic vena cava was sewn end-to-side to the recipient vena cava. Suprahepatic vena cava was oversewn. Donor and recipient hila were well aligned, allowing a standard arterial reconstruction and a choledocholedochostomy. Patient's recovery was uneventful with no problems during the following 6 months.

The proposed technique for a patient with complete SI and dextrocardia offers several advantages: no need to downsize the donor in comparison with the recipient; no need for cutdown of the liver; no risk of kinking of the venous outflow; hepatic hila are aligned; and it allows for a standard arterial and biliary reconstruction. We recommend this technique as a procedure of choice for patients with SI and an intact vena cava.