[Clinical significance and expanded diagnostic possibilities by transesophageal echocardiography]

Two-dimensional echocardiography is already a well-established diagnostic tool for evaluation of cardiac diseases. The introduction of two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has widened the ultrasonic examination possibilities of the heart and great arteries. In 15% of patients where two-dimensional echocardiography gave false - negative results, TEE detected vegetations on the mitral and aortic valves. The sensitivity for detection of atrial septal defect in comparison with angiocardiography is 100%. TEE appears to be a useful noninvasive method for bedside diagnosis of acute aortic disease, particularly type III De Bakey dissections. In anaesthesiology, cardiac surgery and intensive care medicine TEE is used for simultaneous left ventricular function analysis and for detection of microair embolism. TEE is highly sensitive in the detection of mitral and aortic valvular disease, changes of the interatrial septum, left atrium and of the thoracic aorta.