Pediatrics

A person has an external bilaterally symmetric structure, while the inner structure of the body is left-right asymmetrical. Many internal organs have an asymmetric structure or arrangement. Among people there are representatives with anomalies of left-right asymmetry. It occurs in about one in 8000–20 000 newborns. Situs inversus totalis – abnormal position of organs is a complete reverse arrangement of internal organs. The state of health of persons with this anomaly without concomitant defects is usually normal. Organs function normally with their isolated reverse location. The defect itself is a feature, and people live to a very old age. Lethality is the result of congenital heart defects (CHD), biliary atresia, impaired bowel movement or associated with inflammatory causes. Atresia of the biliary tract (biliary atresia) is a fairly rare pathology characterized by the absence of bile ducts or their patency disorder. According to statistics in pediatrics, it occurs in one newborn out of 15 000–30 000. Early diagnosis of biliary atresia is extremely important for a favorable outcome of the disease. The diagnosis should be made before 6 weeks of the baby's life, because cirrhosis develops from 9 weeks. The article describes a clinical case of a combination of abdominal organs reverse arrangement and biliary atresia. Unfortunately, biliary atresia was diagnosed late, when irreversible changes in the liver had already begun. With this publication authors wanted to remind the medical community that in children with internal organs inverse arrangement this developmental defect can be combined with other anomalies, including bile ducts patency disorder. And if the child with a reverse arrangement of internal organs has prolonged jaundice, such a patient requires a close examination for possible biliary atresia.