To determine the value of transesophageal ultrasound in the assessment of cardiac valve prostheses, 14 patients with clinically suspected mitral prosthesis malfunction were studied by transthoracic and transesophageal two-dimensional imaging as well as by color Doppler flow velocity mapping (color Doppler). Patients underwent left ventricular angiography (n = 13), surgery (n =11), or both angio...

The echocardiographic findings by transesophageal and transthoracic techniques were compared in 16 patients with right atrial mass lesions diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography. In only 8 of the 16 patients were the masses imaged by transthoracic echocardiography. Masses in the main body of the right atrium (three of five), as well as those associated with indwelling catheters and pacer...

a 54-year-old man referred to our center with barlow’s disease and severe mitral regurgitation. he had atrial fibrillation (af) rhythm, with a mildly enlarged left atrium (la). transesophageal echocardiography (tee) showed no clot in the la and la appendage; there was only mild spontaneous echo contrast in the la appendage. the patient underwent mitral valve repair and the maze operation, durin...

OBJECTIVES This study was designed to define the frequency and explanation of false negative diagnosis of aortic dissection by aortography and transesophageal echocardiography. BACKGROUND Aortography and transesophageal echocardiography have been widely utilized to diagnose aortic dissection. Previous reports have not fully addressed the reasons why these studies yield false negative results ...

BACKGROUND Transesophageal echocardiography is widely used in cardiac surgery. Transesophageal echocardiography probe insertion and manipulation can injure the esophagus. CASE PRESENTATION A 76-year-old Asian man was admitted to our hospital for coronary artery bypass graft revascularization surgery. A right carotid endarterectomy was successfully performed 2 days before coronary artery bypas...

Background. NOTES techniques allow transesophageal access to the mediastinum. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of transesophageal biopsy of thoracic vertebrae. Methods. Nonsurvival experiments on four 50-kg porcine animals were performed. Transesophageal access to the mediastinum was attained using submucosal tunneling technique. Results. The posterior mediastinum was success...

Echocardiography, three-dimensional; echocardiography, transesophageal; heart valve prosthesis; endocarditis. Echogardiographic aspects have been added to the criteria used to investigate the diagnosis of infective endocarditis1. However, under some circumstances, the two-dimensional echocardiographic technique, whether transthoracic or transesophageal, fails to provide sufficient diagnostic in...

In order to reduce pacing current threshold in transesophageal stimulation, a novel multichannel transesophageal pacemaker and multichannel esophageal lead has been developed. Three different approaches to reduce pacing current threshold were clinically studied. Precise positioning of the pacing dipole allowed reduction of pacing current threshold on average by 20% over the standard bipolar tra...

Transesophageal echocardiography was first described and used to monitor cardiac function in 1976. Initially adopted by cardiac anesthesiologists and cardiologists, it has gained acceptance as an important diagnostic tool in the monitoring and assessment of cardiac status in the critically ill and trauma patient population. Comparative data suggest that transesophageal echocardiography provides...