Impact of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography in cardiac and thoracic aortic surgery: experience in 1011 cases.
BACKGROUND
Although intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (IOTEE) has been widely used in cardiovascular surgery, the exact incidence of abnormalities detected by IOTEE in each type of surgical procedure is still unclear. The aim of this study was to review our experiences of IOTEE, in patients who underwent different types of cardiovascular surgery and to evaluate the clinical usefulness of IOTEE.


RESULTS
Our database of 1011 consecutive patients, who underwent cardiovascular surgery and IOTEE monitoring was reviewed. The incidence of abnormal findings was 115 of 1011 patients (11.4%), and the highest incidence was the appearance of new wall motion abnormalities after cardiopulmonary bypass. These findings influenced surgical decision-making in 59 of the evaluated 1011 patients (5.8%).


CONCLUSIONS
IOTEE provides important intraoperative and postoperative information that may influence surgical decision-making in various cardiovascular surgeries.
Department of Medicine and Clinical Sciences, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan.
Chikage
C
Kihara
Kazuya
K
Murata
Yasuaki
Y
Wada
Yasuyuki
Y
Hadano
Rikimaru
R
Ohyama
Shinichi
S
Okuda
Takeo
T
Tanaka
Yoshio
Y
Nose
Yasuhiro
Y
Fukagawa
Hiroko
H
Yoshino
Takehisa
T
Susa
Akihito
A
Mikamo
Akira
A
Furutani
Toshiro
T
Kobayashi
Kimikazu
K
Hamano
Masunori
M
Matsuzaki
D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000601:surgery*; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D013504:Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*