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Updated: May 11, 2026

Evaluation of Left Ventricular Structure and Function using 3D Echocardiography
Published on: October 28, 2020
'Honeycomb appearance' on three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography as the landmark of left ventricular
Takao Konishi1, Tomoo Nagai, Akira Hamabe
1Department of Cardiology, Japan Self Defense Forces Central Hospital, Ikejiri 1-2-24, Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo 154-0001, Japan. tknagai@zd5.so-net.ne.jp.
Introduction:
Left ventricular non-compaction is a rare congenital heart disease, and is most commonly diagnosed via two-dimensional echocardiography according to echocardiographic criteria. Recently, transthoracic three-dimensional echocardiography has become available in the clinical setting.
Case Presentation:
We present two isolated cases of left ventricular non-compaction from Japan (in an 84-year-old woman and 47-year-old man) that were confirmed by two-dimensional echocardiography, contrast-enhanced two-dimensional echocardiography, three-dimensional echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. In both cases, three-dimensional echocardiography successfully demonstrated the trabecular meshwork of the left ventricle, referred to as a 'honeycomb appearance'.
Conclusions:
Three-dimensional echocardiography has the advantage of visualizing an en-face view of the trabecular meshwork, which is not possible with two-dimensional echocardiography. We further emphasize the clinical utility of three-dimensional echocardiography, which is not limited to just the observation of the trabeculations and inter-trabecular recesses, but can also visualize the trabecular meshwork with a 'honeycomb appearance'.
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