Bizarre blip: Cases of fetuses with flipped organs quadrupled in China
Bizarre blip: Cases of fetuses with flipped organs quadrupled in China
Doctors speculated cases could link to a COVID surge, but no conclusions can be drawn.
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That's very strange, but are there any adverse effects from this condition?
Typically, no, from my understanding. While the organs are reversed (both in position and shape), they're generally still functional like normal organs, and the patient may not suffer any adverse reactions to the condition whatsoever.
However, a major issue can stem from the need of any sort of organ transplant. If a situs inversus patient needs something like a new heart, their bodies won't accept a normal transplant. And with this being such a rare condition, it's nearly impossible to find a viable donor in most scenarios. So a problem like liver failure, which while dangerous is still often treatable via transplant, it's almost always fatal to somebody with situs inversus, unless it can be treated without transplanting.
Will their bodies accept a transplant from another situs inversus patient? I mean, is the rejection caused by the chirality or is it another effect of the condition?
How does the body know which way an organ is oriented?
Will their bodies accept a transplant from another situs inversus patient?
I believe so.
How does the body know which way an organ is oriented?
My understanding is that it has more to do with just getting the pieces to fit together properly. I imagine that some organs are more compatible than others based on their shape. But making sure that there's no "kinks in the hose", so to say, is the important part, as it'd be necessary to ensure that the connecting parts aren't having to be wrapped around in an unnatural way in order for things to fit and stay connected without injury.
However I'll admit that I'm not super well-versed in this. I only know a few bits about the condition after some curious Googling when I played a Hitman mission where one of your targets is a situs inversus patient (and you can optionally "kill" him by destroying a particularly rare right-sided donor heart while he's being prepped for transplant surgery). I thought it was a made-up medical condition for the sake of the game's plot, but was surprised to find out that it's an actual thing in real life.
The organs aren't more likely to be rejected.
That's the neat part. It doesn't! It's only relevant during development.
Well they shit out of their mouths and they eat through their asses, I call that pretty adverse
That's a problem. We don't need more politicians.
Because the relationship between the organs is not changed, most people with situs inversus have no associated medical symptoms or complications.
wait so if these babies are functioning normally as this would imply then how tf do people know the organs are flipped? is this something you can see on the ultrasound in the womb or did they get their babies scanned for some reason? is this a stupid question?? i dont have any kids so im genuinely lost here
edit: i read the article again and “ But, in 2023, the rate jumped to nearly 24 cases per 10,000 ultrasound screenings.” so it was indeed from an ultrasound. my b. leaving this here in case others are confused and stupid like me.
CPR isn't effective. I'd probably have a medic alert bracelet or tattoo or something, just in case.
CPR would work fine. The pressure is applied to the center of the chest between the nipples, not over the heart.
The pressure is applied to the center of the chest, because that's where the heart is, in both situs inversus and the typical layout.
Usually, the heart occupies more space on the left than on the right, but it's more central than many people think.
The heart is on the left usually, but we apply compressions on the sternum, because it is strong enough to stand up to the compressions. Nothing to do with which side the heart is on. Should still work for a heart that is on the left or the right. Ribs commonly get broken during CPR, you are warned about that in training, and that is why you do NOT do compressions directly over the heart. Source: have been both red cross and green cross certified in CPR.