Has anyone had a transesophageal Echo (TEE) procedure done?

Question

My mom's cardiologist recommended a tee test but I was wondering if anyone on here has been through this procedure and could give me the pros and cons of it and if you thought it was worth it. Any information on this test or personal experience would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Answer 1

It is a very simple procedure and the least invasive method of determining heart problems. Much better than an angiogram. However, because it is transesophageal, which means the camera is put down the throat so it is right next to the heart, instead of just holding the camera on the chest, it is likely that your mom has a serious condition. The doctors need a very clear image to diagnose her problem.

It is used to view the heart muscle in action. Normally you can see the walls of the ventricles closing simultaneously, resulting in a circle getting smaller and smaller. The Dr. can see if your mom has a blocked coronary artery by observing the motion of the hearth. If one side of that circle seems to be lagging behind or not moving at all that means the muscle is not getting enough blood, this is called coronary artery disease. And your mom would need a stent to open the artery or bypass surgery.

Another purpose of this procedure is to look for valve leakage. This is also a very serious matter. I hate to break it to you but your mom may have some open heart surgery in her future.

Answer 2

If her cardiologist recommended she have the test she probably should.

I had the test a few months ago and it was pretty uncomfortable.  It hurt to swallow the tube with the ultrasound and I woke up a few times during the procedure and my throat hurt quite a bit.  That said, I found out afterwards that I had a particularly bad experience because I wasn't given enough sedation.  I had a similar test done a few week later and it was a piece of cake.  I slept through it and felt no discomfort.  If your mom has enough sedation she probably won't feel a thing, and even if she doesn't, it still beats the complications from an undiagnosed heart problem.  Even if my procedure hurt 10X what it did, I would still have done it because it helped my doctors diagnose me and give me the proper treatment.

Good Luck!  :0)

Answer 3

The trans esophageal echo is a day proceedure you go in get your gown on lie on the trolley the nurse comes round and puts a line into your arm just in case. When I ask the Nurses putting line's into me how many they have lost this week, it turns out no one ever dies on the trans esophageal trolley. The results of the TEE are extremely useful and let cardiologists know whats going on and what needs fixing. You will probably require an angiogram before surgery.  That's another day procedure..