Transesophageal Three‐Dimensional Color Doppler Echocardiographic Reconstruction of the Left Vertebral Artery

Abstract

We present a patient in whom we successfully reconstructed a long segment of the proximal left vertebral artery in three dimensions using color Doppler transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Three-dimensional (3-D) color Doppler TEE may complement two-dimensional (2-D) TEE by its ability to view cross sections of the left vertebral artery at any desired level from the 3-D data stored in the computer.

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 Detection of Left Vertebral Artery Origin Stenosis

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] We discuss a case where severe stenosis at the origin of the LVA was identi ed by TEE and subsequently con rmed by angiography in a patient with stroke. We previously developed a technique in which the neck vessels can be examined at the end of the usual TEE examination during slow probe withdrawal into the upper esophagus and then the pharynx.…”

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.…”