Partial Situs Inversus of the Gastrointestinal Tract Simulating Hepatic Abscess: Case Report

ABSTRACT

Partial situs inversus of the gastrointestinal tract is characterized by reversal of the positions of thestomach and intestine, but normal placement of thoracic viscera. Its incidence is lower than that of total situsinversus. We recently encountered a classic case of partial situs inversus which simulated clinically andradiographically a hepatic abscess in a 9-year-old girl. She visited the emergency room complaining ofright-upper-quadrant pain, with tenderness; the onset had been sudden. The posteroanterior chest and uprightabdomen showed an air-fluid level in the right subphrenic area, thus raising the possibility that an abscess waspresent. An upper gastrointesitinal series and barium follow-through study disclosed that the air-fluid level wasdue to the right gastric fun-dus and that the position of the intestines was totally reversed;the small bowel wasin the right abdomen and the ileocecal valve and colon in the left. We report this case because partial situsinversus rarely simulate clinically and radiographically a right subphrenic or hepatic abscess.