Comparison of transthoracic and transesophageal color Doppler flow imaging in patients with mechanical prostheses in the mitral valve position.

This study determined the relative value of transthoracic and transesophageal color Doppler flow imaging to systolic flow patterns in the left atrium in different types of mechanical prostheses in the mitral valve. Thirty-nine patients were investigated. Based on clinical findings, 36 of 39 patients had normal prosthetic valve function. Seventeen patients were interrogated within a few days after surgery. Systolic regurgitant jets in the left atrium were absent in all patients by both transthoracic pulsed and color Doppler flow imaging. Using transthoracic continuous wave Doppler, however, jets were demonstrated in 8 of 39 patients (21%). Transesophageal color Doppler flow imaging demonstrated systolic regurgitant jets originating from the prosthesis in all patients. Tilting disc valves showed jets during the entire systole (closure and leakage backflow). Each type of prosthesis generated a specific jet pattern. Pathologic regurgitant jets were crescent-shaped, more extensive and turbulent than jets caused by normal closure and leakage backflow. Thus, transthoracic color Doppler flow imaging is not sensitive for detecting regurgitant jets in mechanical prostheses in the mitral valve. All mechanical prostheses show a specific jet pattern, which should be helpful when transesophageal echocardiography is used to identify pathologic backflow.