Visceral situs inversus in three patients.

Three examples of patients with complete visceral situs inversus are presented from nineteen years of clinical experience. The first case concerns a 16-year-old woman, who suffered from appendicitis and was operated on one day after the admission. The second case presents a 63-year-old woman admitted and operated on because of colorectal carcinoma. The last case involves a 66-year-old man taken in and operated on due to stomach cancer. A surgical patient with complete visceral situs inversus forces an operator to abandon currently used operating standards. This situation should especially mobilize operator's watchfulness while performing the procedure. Non-typical circumstances occurring during operation increase frequency of incidence of intra-operative complications.