Transesophageal echocardiography to help position and deploy a transcatheter heart valve.

RANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE IMPLANTATION (TAVI) IS A CLINICALLY ACCEPTED PRACICE IN EUROPE for patients with high or prohibitive surgical risk and is undergoing clinical investigation n the U.S. and Canada. Some investigators have utilized transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to select ranscatheter heart valve (THV) size, monitor the procedure, and identify complications (1,2). The use of TEE o position and deploy the THV has been limited by the ability to image the THV within the calcium hadowing of the native aortic valve, and the ability to differentiate the THV from the balloon on which it s mounted. In this iPIX, we show the use of 2and 3-dimensional TEE to aid in the positioning and eployment of THV. If the appropriate technique is used, TEE can be an important adjunct to fluoroscopy nd, therefore, improve the safety and efficacy of the TAVI procedure.