DYNAMIC 3-DIMENSIONAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF COR-TRIATRIATUM

Classic cor triatriatum sinistrum is a rare cardiac malformation to be found in the adult. One year after surgical correction of an atrial s eptal defect in a 55-year-old man, cor triatriatum sinistrum was diagn osed by transesophageal echocardiography We compared transthoracic ech ocardiography, transesophageal echocardiography, and cardiac catheteri zation to dynamic three-dimensional echocardiography (3-D echo) which offers a new, noninvasive approach to determine the opening size betwe en the accessory and the true left atrium. The findings by 3-D echo. c onfirmed by left heart catheterization, showed that the accessory memb rane was not stenosing. Surgical correction was therefore not indicate d in this patient.