The transesophageal echocardiographic features of double-orifice left atrioventricular valve.

Three adult patients with a double-orifice left atrioventricular valve (AV) were studied by both precordial and transesophageal ultrasound imaging, (two transverse plane and one biplane studies) to compare and contrast the information obtained by either imaging modality. In two patients, this pathologic condition was associated with other congenital heart malformations--a muscular inlet ventricular septal defect in the first, atrioventricular and ventriculoarterial discordance and an unrestrictive ventricular septal defect in the second. In the third patient, the double-orifice left AV valve existed as an isolated lesion. In the first and second case, both orifices were of similar size; in the third the additional orifice was of diminutive size and was demonstrated only by transesophageal longitudinal plane scanning. In summary, in this adult patient group, transesophageal echocardiography with color flow mapping was superior to precordial scanning in the assessment of both the morphology and functional status of a double-orifice left AV.