title: [Initial experience with real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TEE) in cardiac surgery].
abstract: Recently, real-time 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TEE) was introduced to allow online acquisition, rendering, and provision of accurate information on cardiac structures. We report our initial experience of this modality. The 1st patient had mitral valve insufficiency; mitral valve prolapse of the P2 segment was clearly visualized by preoperative 3D-TEE. The 2nd patient had severe aortic stenosis, in whom 3D-TEE demonstrated fusion of the non- and right-coronary cusps. The 3rd patient had ventricular septal defect (perimembranous type), and 3D-TEE precisely demonstrated the size, shape, and location of the defect. The diagnoses were confirmed intraoperatively in all the patients. In conclusion, real-time 3D-TEE was useful for assessing the anatomical features of heart structures, enabling us to perform safer operations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Tsukuba Kinen Hospital, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morizumi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirasaki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suematu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D003199:Computer Systems; D019560:Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult