Transvenous mitral commissurotomy examined with transesophageal echocardiography.

Transvenous mitral commissurotomy (TMC) was conducted with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in two patients with mitral stenosis. It was possible to see clearly not only the intracardiac structures to be examined by TMC, such as the right and left atria, interatrial septum, and mitral valve, but also the instruments used in TMC, such as the catheter, guidewire, and balloon. It was possible to determine the positional relation between the intracardiac structures and instruments. We could observe all procedures other than Brockenbrough's procedure by both TEE and fluoroscopy at the same time. Although safety and reliability cannot be confirmed from just the two present cases, TEE appears to be applicable to TMC.