Epicardial Real-Time Three-Dimensional Echocardiography in Cardiac Surgery: A Preliminary Experience

In our study, epicardial RT3DE has been demonstrated to improve morphologic definition of anatomic valvular lesions and their relationship with cardiac adjacent structures. It may be a valid substitute when the 2DTEE approach is contraindicated, or it could have a complementary role, coupled with 2DTEE, to give additional information for surgical planning.