We report on a patient who was referred for percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy for symptomatic mitral stenosis. However, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography both revealed a large mobile left atrial thrombus, occupying almost half of the left atrial body. Because the patient strongly declined surgical mitral treatment, he was administered warfarin for 2 years. Complete...

We present a case of maternal cardiac arrest during an elective cesarean delivery. Transesophageal echocardiography identified a large pulmonary artery mass, and guided resuscitation efforts. After return of spontaneous circulation, the patient developed disseminated intravascular coagulation with massive hemorrhage. Blood product selection and volume replacement were guided by rotational throm...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Acute paraplegia must be investigated promptly to exclude reversible causes. In this report we illustrate the usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography in identifying the vascular etiologies of acute paraplegia. CASE DESCRIPTIONS Two patients presented with acute paraplegia, one spontaneously and the other after removal of an intra-aortic balloon pump catheter. Thr...

We report a case of a 57-year-old man with typical angina due to a coronary artery-to-pulmonary artery fistula, which was evident on transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography with color Doppler flow mapping. The diagnosis was confirmed by coronary angiography. The patient underwent surgical ligation of the fistula. However, repeated transesophageal echocardiography and coronary angiogr...

OBJECTIVE Atrial septal defect (ASD) device closure is routinely done under the guide of transesophageal or intracardiac echocardiography which are expensive techniques and not easily affordable in developing countries. METHODS Using metallic devices, we attempted 32 ASD device closures under transthoracic echocardiography. FINDINGS Of those, 30 procedures were successful (94 %). In two pat...

Aortic root abscess is a common complication of aortic valve endocarditis. However, aortic root abscess and formation of a fistula from the aortic root to the right ventricular outflow tract in the setting of a native aortic valve and previous repair of an aortic dissection with a Dacron graft is an uncommon event. Transesophageal echocardiography is superior to transthoracic echocardiography f...

BACKGROUND The study objective was to evaluate the role of transesophageal echocardiography in identifying the origin of anomalous coronary arteries and confirming their course in relation to the great vessels. The diagnosis of coronary anomalies is made by angiography. The anomalous left main artery with a course between the pulmonary artery and the aorta has been associated with myocardial in...

INTRODUCTION Fibrin glue is used commonly during cardiac surgery but can behave as an intracardiac abnormal foreign body following surgery. There have been few such cases reported, and they were typically noticed only because of the resulting catastrophic cardiac conditions, such as valvular malfunction. We report a case where, for the first time, transesophageal echocardiography was used to de...

BACKGROUND There are two competing theories of the mechanism of blood flow during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The "cardiac pump" theory postulates that blood flows because the heart is squeezed between the sternum and the spine. The "thoracic pump" theory postulates that blood flows from the thorax because intrathoracic pressure exceeds extrathoracic vascular pressure and that flow is restri...