title: Early echocardiographic detection of a massive intracardiac thrombus in a patient scheduled for orthotopic liver transplantation.
abstract: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in cases of orthotopic liver transplantation is gaining acceptance for intraoperative hemodynamic monitoring. The timepoint of TEE probe insertion varies and is based on the fear of bleeding complications in the setting of portal hypertension with esophageal varices. In this case, early insertion of the TEE probe and examination resulted in the early detection of a large intracardiac thrombus, and thus the cancellation of the planned procedure. This case highlights the potential value of early TEE examination in orthotopic liver transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy, Goethe University Hospital, 60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. haitham.mutlak@kgu.de
authors.forename: Haitham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mutlak
authors.forename: Hans-Joachim
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Wilke
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moench
authors.forename: Wolf-Otto
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Bechstein
authors.forename: Gösta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lotz
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zacharowski
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iber
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000601:surgery; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*