What precautions should a person with situs inversus take?
Patients with situs inversus without ciliary dysfunction have multiple structural and functional abnormalities especially in terms of cardiac, spine and airway malformations, posing a challenge to a safe anesthetic. Case: A 40 year old female was admitted with spontaneous onset of labor with a breech presentation for urgent cesarean section. Her medical history included dextrocardia, which prompted a thorough physical examination for other possible structural anomalies, especially pertaining to her cardiovascular system, airway and the spine. The case was found to be total situs inversus without any evidence of ciliary dysfunction. An epidural anesthetic was planned, with careful dosing of and monitoring for hemodynamic changes. The case proceeded uneventfully and the epidural catheter was also used for postoperative pain control. Conclusion: We describe here the evaluation of and the precautions taken during the care such a patient who underwent a successful cesarean section delivery
