A Floating Object in the Left Atrium

INTRAOPERATIVE, real-time, three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (RT 3D TEE) has become common in addition to conventional two-dimensional (2D) TEE. However, an efficient application of RT 3D TEE to cardiac surgery is still evolving.1 The images were obtained from a 36-yr-old woman with Marfan syndrome during aortic root replacement and mitral valve plasty immediately after aortic unclamping. 2D TEE detected a floating object with acoustic shadow above the mitral valve in the left atrium (arrow, midesophageal mitral commissural view;left).
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research