Stomach ache later, man’s viscera found on opposite side

Doctors at the Kushinagar District Hospital made a shocking discovery recently. The viscera of a man, including his heart, liver and gallbladder, were located on

Doctors at the Kushinagar District Hospital made a shocking discovery recently. The viscera of a man, including his heart, liver and gallbladder, were located on the opposite side inside his body, though functioning normally. The man had come in mid-September to be treated for stomach pain.

Jamaluddin Ansari, 43, a resident of Kushisnagar’s Padrauna, who initially took the regular stomach pain as gas trouble, tried to cure it through antacids. On the night of September 16, when he could not bear the pain, he approached the district hospital, where he was diagnosed with 10mm and 12 mm stones in his gallbladder. However, during the ultrasound scan, the organ was found to be located on the left, instead of the right hand side.

The ECG, also conducted at Kushinagar’s District Hospital last month, showed his heart beating on the right side of his chest, while other tests showed his liver functioning on the left hand side. In a normal person, the heart is located on the left hand side and the liver on the right side.

Ansari was told about his anomalies and as his operation was complicated, he was referred to a specialist in Gorakhpur, who operated him on September 30, removing the two stones at a private hospital.

“Trouble began on the night of September 16, when I suddenly woke up with extreme pain on the right side. The doctors gave me an injection but the pain returned after an initial relief of two hours. Then they carried out tests including ultrasound, only to realise that my organs – heart, liver and gall bladder were located on the opposite side,” Ansari said.

Laparoscopic and bariatric surgeon Shashi Kant Dikshit, who operated on Ansari, said, “The patient was suffering from a rare genetic disorder. The anomaly is seen in one among one lakh people. The vital organs of such patients, including heart, liver and gallbladder are located on the opposite side – as mirror images of their natural positions. Usually, surgery in such a patient is difficult. In Ansari, the surgery was performed using a high-resolution 3-D laparoscopic machine, which eased the operation by presenting 3-D clear and magnified image. He was successfully operated in 25 minutes and is healthy now.”

According to the doctor, the first such case came to light in 1643, in the US.