[Transesophageal echocardiography as a early postoperative monitoring patients after cardiovascular surgery: analysis of 500 consecutive studies].
In cardiac surgery significant residual lesions increase postoperative morbidity and mortality. To evaluate the usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as a early postoperative monitor in patients immediately after cardiovascular surgery, 500 consecutive patients were studied from April 1990 to December 1994. TEE was performed at the bedside in the intensive-care unit in all of these patients. TEE detected findings unsuspected by other perioperative tests or clinical examination in 103 (20.6%) of 500 patients. Imaging revealed unsatisfactory operative results that necessitated further surgery in 18 (3.6%) of the 500 patients. These data indicate that early postoperative TEE is useful in assessing immediate operative results and identifying patients with unsatisfactory results who are at increased risk for postoperative complications.
Asakura
T
T
Department of Surgery and Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Institute, Tokyo, Japan.
Aoki
K
K
Tadokoro
M
M
Tanaka
H
H
Furuta
S
S
Sawada
J
J
D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D011184:Postoperative Period