Introduction.

Organ transposition due to situs inversus (SI) is a rare condition that makes the diagnosis of acute appendicitis difficult. This condition entails that the patient’ symptoms and physical examination findings may be atypical, which requires the use of images for diagnostic confirmation in most cases.

Clinical cases.

Three cases of appendicitis in patients diagnosed with situs inversus are described. Two of them had a known medical history, while the third case was diagnosed intraoperatively.

Results.

In two patients it was decided to undergo laparoscopic surgery without additional diagnostic images. The patients progressed satisfactorily.

Conclusion.

Appendicitis should always be considered in the differential diagnoses in patients with pain in the left iliac fossa. It is essential to diagnose and treat appendicitis effectively to minimize associated complications. The importance of the anamnesis and the examiner’s clinical suspicion are vital in these cases, which can be confirmed with diagnostic images. There may be cases where the patient’s clinical condition does not allow diagnostic imaging studies to be performed, increasingly supports the use of the laparoscopic approach. It is recommended to consider the laparoscopic approach in the first instance, since it allows us to confirm the diagnosis of situs inversus totalis in case the history is unknown and facilitates timely management of the emergency.

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