Mitral insufficiency: assessment by means of transesophageal echocardiography

The etiology and mechanisms of mitral insufficiency are analyzed. It is shown in details how to perform the investigation of patients with mitral insufficiency by means of transesophageal echocardiography. A special attention is drawn to the intraoperative assessment of mitral insufficiency. Transesophageal echocardiography makes possible to evaluate the severity of mitral insufficiency, the localization of the damage to the mitral valve, and the possibility of the mitral valve surgery