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Ann Thorac Surg 2006;81:1546
© 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This textbook reviews the field of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (IOTEE) in eight sections. The first two sections detail the principles and conduct of IOTEE. With the theoretical considerations covered, the remaining six sections discuss how data from IOTEE may guide perioperative decision making in coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, congestive heart failure, thoracic aortic disease, noncardiac surgery, critical care, and the interventional cardiology laboratory. The text is comprehensive in scope. The reader will not only understand IOTEE, but will also understand how to integrate results into therapeutic decision making.
The editors are recognized leaders and teachers in the field of IOTEE. They have assembled a multidisciplinary team of experts that have compiled this work in the style described in the foreword: " This textbook should be regarded as the cumulative knowledge of a collaborative team of leading surgeons, cardiologists and anesthesiologists who ... have advanced ... a once novel tool to its current conventional application."
Within each section the chapters are well-organized and standardized with clear titles, abundant color illustrations (graphs, line diagrams, transesophageal echocardiographic pictures) that highlight tables, key point sections, and useful multiple choice questions. The content of each chapter is easy to embrace regardless of the level of expertise in IOTEE by the reader. Along with a comprehensive index, there is a section with answers to the multiple choice questions as well as a section with a summary of tables of normal values, hemodynamic calculations, and grading systems in IOTEE. The textbook is clinically oriented with a "how to" approach in deciphering IOTEE based on anatomy, disease presentation, and surgery. The chapters on echocardiographic service and pitfalls of IOTEE are comprehensive although the list of references is somewhat abbreviated.
The book format is a major strength. The accessible content will serve admirably as a frequent reference for the novice, intermediary, and expert echocardiographer in all phases relevant to IOTEE (ie, learning, teaching, preparing for IOTEE certification, and caring for patients).
No textbook review is complete without comments on weaknesses. We believe that there are no major weaknesses. Perhaps more intraoperative photographs of the pathology corresponding to the IOTEE would add further value. In addition, a more exhaustive list of references could be made available to the reader in selected chapters.
We congratulate the editors and their team. We agree with the following comment in the editors' foreword: "It is the purpose of this text to ... provide the perioperative clinician with an-up-to-date understanding of the current state-of-the-art transesophageal echocardiography and its potential applications." This work fulfills its purpose of the foreword by Delos Cosgrove: "This textbook represents a significant contribution to the dissemination of knowledge regarding this important diagnostic modality."
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