[Transesophageal echocardiography: principles, technique and potential indications in veterinary medicine]

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a recent ultrasound technique using an endoscopic transducer to image the heart from within the esophagus. TEE avoids the anatomical structures that may affect the quality of the conventional transthoracic echocardiography. The quality of cardiovascular images obtained with TEE is therefore superior to transthoracic views. The potential indications of TEE in veterinary medicine include analysis of specific abnormalities (thrombosis, aneurism, cardiac tumors), cardiac monitoring during anesthesia or catheterization, and evaluation of cardiovascular surgical procedures.