Transesophageal echocardiography combined with magnetic resonance imaging for detecting venous anomalies in dextrocardia. A case report

Angiology. 1995 Jun;46(6):531-5. doi: 10.1177/000331979504600612.

Abstract

A fifty-six-year-old woman was admitted to Osaka Rosai hospital because of dyspnea, chills, and fatigue. The patient was diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography as having congestive heart failure due to severe biatrioventricular valve regurgitation, and cardiac surgery was proposed. Preoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) revealed a dilatation of the coronary sinus (CS), a right-sided hemiazygos vein (R-AZ), and another great vessel lying between the CS and the R-AZ. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was also performed, and this showed a persistent right superior vena cava (PRSVC) entering the left atrium via the dilatated CS. However, the site of connection between the R-AZ and the PRSVC could not be detected by MRI because of inadequate slice acquisition. Each method has its limitations, particularly with regard to visualizing the extracardiac vascular system. Therefore, the authors demonstrated that the combination of TEE and MRI might be more useful than each alone, and the combination is as a valuable method as digital subtraction angiography for the diagnosis of extracardiac venous anomalies.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Angiography, Digital Subtraction
  • Azygos Vein / abnormalities*
  • Azygos Vein / diagnostic imaging
  • Azygos Vein / pathology
  • Coronary Vessel Anomalies / complications
  • Coronary Vessel Anomalies / diagnosis*
  • Dextrocardia / complications
  • Dextrocardia / diagnosis*
  • Echocardiography, Transesophageal*
  • Female
  • Heart Failure / diagnosis
  • Heart Failure / etiology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Angiography*
  • Middle Aged
  • Mitral Valve Insufficiency / complications
  • Mitral Valve Insufficiency / diagnosis
  • Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency / complications
  • Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency / diagnosis
  • Vena Cava, Superior / abnormalities*
  • Vena Cava, Superior / diagnostic imaging
  • Vena Cava, Superior / pathology