Definitive diagnosis of descending thoracic aortic dissection by real time/live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography.

We describe a patient with descending thoracic aortic dissection in whom three- dimensional transthoracic echocardiography was able to clearly visualize the dissection flap en face as a sheet of tissue, as well as demonstrate a large communication between the true and false lumen in three dimensions, enabling a definitive diagnosis of dissection.