title: Esophagectomy via left thoracotomy for esophageal cancer with situs inversus totalis: report of a case.
abstract: We report a case of successful esophagectomy via a left thoracotomy for esophageal cancer in a 57-year-old Japanese man with situs inversus totalis. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, performed to investigate the cause of dysphagia, revealed a 7-cm irregular shaped mass occupying more than half of the circumference of the middle-third of the esophagus. Computed tomography (CT) showed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes and situs inversus totalis. Histological examination of a biopsy specimen revealed squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. Although esophagectomy is usually performed through a right thoracotomy because of the left position of the aortic arch, we performed successful subtotal esophagectomy with radical lymph node dissection through a left thoracotomy. During surgery, we modifi ed the standard surgical technique in a mirrorimage fashion to complete the esophagectomy safely. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Shikoku Cancer Center, 160 Kou Minami-Umenomoto, Matsuyama, 791-0280, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mimae
authors.forename: Isao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nozaki
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurita
authors.forename: Shigemitsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takashima
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D016629:Esophagectomy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012857:Situs Inversus / Q000150:complications*; D013270:Stomach / Q000637:transplantation; D013908:Thoracotomy