ABSTRACT
Several indications for perioperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) have become wellestablished in cardiac surgery (1). The 2010 guidelines support the use of TEE in all cardiac or thoracic aortic surgery patients (see Chapter 31). However, many other indications for the use of TEE remain controversial. As more experience is acquired with the use of perioperative TEE, the favorable impact of routine use of TEE in pediatric and adult cardiac surgery has been documented (2-17). The objective of the present chapter is to review some of the general applications of TEE during cardiac surgery. Monitoring of segmental and global myocardial function, assessment of valvular function, and aortic pathology will also be discussed, although briefly, as they have been reviewed in more detail in other chapters.
