title: Solitary liver mass detected by transesophageal echocardiography.
abstract: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has become a mainstay of cardiac surgery in the diagnosis of intracardiac and vascular lesions adjacent to the esophagus. In this case, we detected a liver mass during intraoperative TEE examination in a patient undergoing elective cardiac valve surgery. Preoperatively, the patient had normal liver function tests and no symptoms of hepatocellular carcinoma. This mass was diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma after the surgery and treated with transarterial chemoembolization. In conclusion, this case report outlines another potential application of intraoperative TEE extending its role outside the realm of cardiac surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A liver mass was detected during intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) examination in a patient undergoing cardiac valve surgery. This incidental finding permitted the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, and demonstrates another potential utility of TEE.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, and Anesthesia and Pain Research Institute, Yonsei University School of Medicine; and †Yonsei Cardiovascular Research Institute, Yonsei University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Kwak
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic; D005260:Female; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed