Donal M. Billig

Surgical repair of congenital cardiac lesions in mirror image dextrocardia with situs inversus totalis

Abstract Three types of clinical dextrocardia are recognized; mirror image dextrocardia with situs inversus, cardiac dextroversion with or without situs inversus, and extrinsic dextrocardia. Cardiac dextroversion is usually associated with complicated intracardiac anomalies that are not amenable to total surgical correction. Cardiac anomalies that accompany mirror image dextrocardia with situs inversus resemble other cardiac anomalies and are amenable to surgical repair. Successful repair of an atrial septal defect, a ventricular septal defect and total correction of a tetralogy of Fallot in three patients with mirror image dextrocardia and situs inversus totalis is reported. These cases are believed to be the first successful operations for each of these combinations of lesions.