Dextrocardia and Situs inversus in a dog

Aim: The aim of this study was to report a case of dextrocardia with Situs inversus totalis. Case History and Observation: A nine-year-old male Cocker Spaniels dog was referred for cardiologic evaluation due to non-productive cough. Thoracic radiography and ultrasound examination showed the reversed position not only of the heart but also of the abdominal organs such as liver and gallbladder, stomach, spleen, aorta and caudal vena cava. Except dextrocardia itself, the echocardiogram was normal. On the electrocardiogram the P-QRST waves were inverted in lead D1. On the base of these results, the case was diagnosed as dextrocardia and Situs inversus totalis. Discussion: Dextrocardia and Situs inversus (DSI) is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by mirror-image of the normal anatomic arrangement of all internal organs. In dogs, the majority of reported cases were associated with Kartagener's syndrome (KS), but our patient had no evidences of this cilliary disorder.. Besides radiography and ultrasound examination, the ECG can be of great value to diagnose DSI as demonstrated in this report.