Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography for Thoracic Surgery

Abstract

The use of TEE outside of the cardiac operating room has significantly increased over the last few years. Thoracic surgery is naturally becoming an exciting field for the application of this powerful technology for more than one reason. In fact, in many institutions cardiac anesthetists, most of whom are TEE trained, provide their services to thoracic surgery. Moreover, the physiology of cardiopulmonary interaction, the growing number of combined cardiothoracic operations, and the increasing complexity of patients’ pathologies create the need for the complete intraoperative monitoring of cardiac function.