Transesophageal Echocardiographic Detection of Left Vertebral Artery Origin Stenosis

Abstract

We discuss the case of a patient with stroke in whom severe stenosis at the origin of the left vertebral artery was identified by transesophageal echocardiography and subsequently confirmed with conventional angiography.

Transesophageal and Transpharyngeal Ultrasound Demonstration of Reversed Diastolic Flow in Aortic Arch Branches and Neck Vessels in Severe Aortic Regurgitation

“…The technique has also been utilized in the assessment of atherosclerotic plaques and stenosis of subclavian, common carotid, internal carotid, and proximal vertebral arteries as well as evaluation of the patency of the left internal mammary artery graft to the left anterior descending coronary artery. In addition, a carotid body paraganglioma was recently visualized by TPU 8‐15 . The present study highlights the potential utility of this approach in complementing other TEE findings in diagnosing torrential AR.…”

Transesophageal Echocardiographic Identification of Bilateral Vertebral Artery Ostial Stenosis

“…With the probe positioned in the upper esophagus, aortic arch branches (such as the innominate, common carotid, and subclavian arteries) and the accompanying veins can be well visualized. Branches of the subclavian artery, such as the vertebral and internal mammary arteries, have also been imaged 1–9 . In this report we describe the usefulness of 2D TEE in correctly diagnosing severe ostial stenosis of both the left (LVA) and right vertebral arteries (RVA) in an adult patient with the probe positioned in the upper esophagus.…”

Transesophageal Echocardiographic Identification of Normal and Stenosed Posterior Intercostal Arteries

“…More recently, the technique has been used to identify the right common carotid, right subclavian, left internal mammary, bronchial, and the extracranial segments of both vertebral arteries. In addition, using the transpharyngeal approach, the proximal portions of both the right and left external and internal carotids have also been studied 1–14 . However, there is scant information in the literature regarding the TEE identification of other branches of the aorta, like the posterior intercostal arteries (PICA) 15 .…”