Aphasia due to right hemisphere infarction in a patient with situs inversus after carotid artery stenting: a case report

Situs inversus (SI) is a rare congenital anomaly in which systemic organs and vessels are positioned in a mirror image of their normal positions. An interesting issue regarding individuals with such a condition is whether they also have reversed brain asymmetries. Most of studies on this issue indicate that, similarly to many people with normal visceral alignment, patients with SI have a left hemispheric dominance for language functions. We report a rare occurrence of anomalous cerebral dominance for language in a patient with complete situs inversus. The right-handed patient developed aphasia after carotid stenting, and brain magnetic resonance imaging showed cerebral infarction in the right parietal lobe. Anomalous cerebral dominance for language and visceral situs inversus in our patient both may result from a single, genetically coded atypicality of developmental gradient.