INTRAOPERATIVE TRANSESOPHAGEAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY USING HIGH-RESOLUTIONIMAGING IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN WITH CONGENITAL HEART-DISEASE

A transesophageal probe recently has been developed for use in pediatr ic patients, which incorporates 48 rather than 26 elements, and permit s continuous-wave Doppler, and pulsed and color Doppler flow modalitie s. This probe potentially offers significantly enhanced image quality. To evaluate its capabilities, we tested the probe intraoperatively in 53 infants and children undergoing surgical repair of congenital hear t disease, and found that clear echocardiographic images with good det ail were provided, including the ability to image coronary arteries in patients weighing cis little as 2.7 kg. Imaging detail transesophagea lly is commensurate with the performance of this system from a transth oracic route. This probe also has the capacity for accurate estimates of high velocity jets using continuous-wave Doppler, which is a relati vely new development.