Preoperative Assessment of Mitral Valve Prolapse and Chordae Rupture Using Real Time Three-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography

BACKGROUND: Mitral valve (MV) repair provides a better outcome in patients with significant mitral regurgitation than MV replacement. Valve repair requires a thorough understanding of MV morphology. Recently developed real time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (RT3D TEE) can provide online acquisition and accurate information of cardiac structures. The study aim was to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of using RT3D TEE to assess mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and chordae rupture for surgical planning purposes. METHODS: Fifty-six consecutive patients with moderate to severe mitral regurgitation due to MVP received two-dimensional (2D) TEE and RT3D TEE the day before operation. The accuracy of the assessment of MVP and chordae rupture by RT3D TEE was determined and compared with assessment by 2D TEE using surgical inspection as the gold standard. RESULTS: The overall sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 2D TEE in detection of MVP were 87%, 96%, 93%, 88%, and 95%, respectively, whereas those of RT3D TEE were 100%, 99%, 99%, 98%, and 100%, respectively (P<0.05 for all comparisons). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve areas for assessment of anterior leaflet and posterior leaflet segment involvement using RT3D TEE (ROC areas 0.96 and 0.99) were higher than for those using 2D TEE (ROC areas 0.86 and 0.94). Interobserver agreement for RT3D TEE (κ=0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.92-1.00) was significantly greater than for 2D TEE (κ=0.89, 95% CI 0.81-0.93) (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: RT3D TEE is a feasible, accurate and reproducible method for evaluating MVP and chordae rupture in the clinical setting.