Meticulous Aortic imaging is vital for assessing atherosclerotic plaques in stroke evaluation , aneurysms of aorta ( Both dissecting and non dissecting.) and during aortic surgeries. Peri procedural aortic imaging has become mandatory in many of the complex aortic endovascular repair as well .
TEE is an extremely useful investigation and has revolutiolised our appraoch to aortic disorders .
However , we have an issue .
How to overcome it ?
During peri-operative TEE a simple but innovative idea is to displace the tracheal air with saline filled balloon and capture the aortic arch with ultra sound . What a way to un-blind our vision deep inside the thorax !
A specific catheter is available for this purpose .
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 