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China Times Updated: "2011/04/02 03:01" by Liang Yi-Ting / Taichung Report
"My heart is on the right side!" Sixty-six-year-old grandmother Xiong Chen Baoyu underwent surgery at Dajia Guangtian Hospital due to blocked heart vessels. However, doctors discovered she also suffers from a rare condition called "complete situs inversus," where not only is her heart positioned on the right instead of the left like most people, but her lungs, liver, and other internal organs are all "reversed." The surgery took twice as long as usual to complete due to its high difficulty.
Guo Dazhi, director of Guangtian Hospital, explained that "complete situs inversus" is caused by an autosomal recessive genetic mutation, occurring in only one in 10,000 people. Recently, Grandma Xiong Chen Baoyu sought treatment for persistent angina. Examinations revealed an 80% blockage in her main heart vessel. However, due to the abnormal positioning of her organs and blood vessels, a traditional angioplasty was impossible, necessitating coronary artery bypass surgery.
However, the hospital found no records of "right-sided heart" bypass surgeries performed domestically. Over the past 20 years, there have been only about 20 documented cases worldwide, making it extremely rare.
Guo Dazhi noted that the difficulty of Grandma Xiong's heart surgery increased by 40 to 50%. During the operation, he constantly felt "awkward," likening it to driving in reverse—everything felt unnatural, even the angle for suturing blood vessels was different from usual, making the procedure highly challenging.
Xiong Chen Baoyu laughed as she recalled that in her 30s, she visited a clinic for a cold. The doctor placed the stethoscope on her left side but couldn’t hear any heartbeat, looking at her in confusion. When he tried the right side, the heartbeat was immediately clear—this was the first time she learned her heart was "reversed."
Later, when she went to Veterans General Hospital for an electrocardiogram (ECG), the nurse initially thought the machine was broken and kept apologizing. Only then did Xiong realize her heart was "rebellious" and quickly explained that the machine was fine—the ECG electrodes were just placed on the wrong side. She had thought only her heart was reversed, but this recent hospital visit revealed her entire internal organ structure was different from others. Fortunately, the surgery went smoothly, restoring her health.
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 110402/ 4/ 2p4ia. html
1 in 10,000: Grandma's Organs Reversed, High-Risk Heart Surgery
"My heart is on the right side!" Sixty-six-year-old grandmother Xiong Chen Baoyu underwent surgery at Dajia Guangtian Hospital due to blocked heart vessels. However, doctors discovered she also suffers from a rare condition called "complete situs inversus," where not only is her heart positioned on the right instead of the left like most people, but her lungs, liver, and other internal organs are all "reversed." The surgery took twice as long as usual to complete due to its high difficulty.
Guo Dazhi, director of Guangtian Hospital, explained that "complete situs inversus" is caused by an autosomal recessive genetic mutation, occurring in only one in 10,000 people. Recently, Grandma Xiong Chen Baoyu sought treatment for persistent angina. Examinations revealed an 80% blockage in her main heart vessel. However, due to the abnormal positioning of her organs and blood vessels, a traditional angioplasty was impossible, necessitating coronary artery bypass surgery.
However, the hospital found no records of "right-sided heart" bypass surgeries performed domestically. Over the past 20 years, there have been only about 20 documented cases worldwide, making it extremely rare.
Guo Dazhi noted that the difficulty of Grandma Xiong's heart surgery increased by 40 to 50%. During the operation, he constantly felt "awkward," likening it to driving in reverse—everything felt unnatural, even the angle for suturing blood vessels was different from usual, making the procedure highly challenging.
Xiong Chen Baoyu laughed as she recalled that in her 30s, she visited a clinic for a cold. The doctor placed the stethoscope on her left side but couldn’t hear any heartbeat, looking at her in confusion. When he tried the right side, the heartbeat was immediately clear—this was the first time she learned her heart was "reversed."
Later, when she went to Veterans General Hospital for an electrocardiogram (ECG), the nurse initially thought the machine was broken and kept apologizing. Only then did Xiong realize her heart was "rebellious" and quickly explained that the machine was fine—the ECG electrodes were just placed on the wrong side. She had thought only her heart was reversed, but this recent hospital visit revealed her entire internal organ structure was different from others. Fortunately, the surgery went smoothly, restoring her health.
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 110402/ 4/ 2p4ia. html