[Usefulness of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography in stent graft implantation for thoracic descending aorta].
BACKGROUND
Stent graft implantation for thoracic descending aorta is a promising alternative to open repair. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a sensitive imaging modality for aortic disease. We reviewed our experience with TEE in stent graft implantation for thoracic descending aorta.


METHODS
Five patients underwent stent graft implantation for thoracic descending aorta under general anesthesia. Intraoperative angiography and TEE were used to identify the extent of the aneurysm and the placement of the stent.


RESULTS
TEE showed stent graft configuration and presence of leakage in all cases. In three cases, additional stent graft placement or bypass was performed.


CONCLUSIONS
Useful information was obtained by TEE in enhancing the accuracy of stent graft positioning potentially improving outcomes. TEE may facilitate repair by confirming aortic pathology, identifying endograft placement, and assessing the adequacy of aneurysm sack isolation, presence of leakage, as well as dynamic intraoperative cardiac performance.
Katayama
Toshiko
T
Department of Anesthesiology, Takamatsu Red Cross Hospital, Takamatsu 760-0017.
Nitta
Kazuhito
K
Kawahito
Shinji
S
Tanaka
Katsuya
K
Matsumoto
Yukihisa
Y
Doi
Toshihiko
T
Kitahata
Hiroshi
H
Oshita
Shuzo
S
D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D011859:Radiography; D015607:Stents