Look beyond the Mirror: Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Situs Inversus Totalis—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (and Report of New Technique)

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in situs inversus totalis (SIT) is a technically and physically demanding procedure for surgeons and there is still a lack of consensus regarding the best technical approach in such cases. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate port placement, the dominant hand of the surgeon, preoperative imaging, morbidity, and mortality. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for studies of patients with SIT that underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Of 387 identified records, 101 met our inclusion criteria, all of them case reports or case series of maximum of 6 patients. Results: Out of the 121 patients included in the analysis, 94 were operated on using a “mirrored American” technique, 12 using the “Mirrored French”, 9 employed single-port techniques, and 6 described novel port placements. Even though most surgeries were conducted by a right-handed surgeon (93 cases), surgeries performed by the seven left-handed surgeons yielded shorter intervention times (p = 0.024). Preoperative imaging (CT, MRI, MRCP, ERCP) also correlated with a lower duration of surgery (p = 0.038. Length of stay was associated with the type of disease, but not with other studied endpoints. Morbidity was less than 1%, and conversion rates and mortality were nil. Conclusions: Cholecystectomy in SIT is a safe but challenging procedure and surgeons should prepare in advance for the unfamiliar aspects of completing such a task. While preoperative imaging and a left-handed surgeon are beneficial in terms of surgery length, when these are not available surgeons should focus on achieving the most comfortable setting based on their experience and tailor their approach to the patient at hand. Further studies are needed in order to properly describe and evaluate intraoperative findings as well as surgeon-dependent factors that could improve future recommendations.