Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiogram During Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: TEE to the Rescue!

Supported by a growing number of studies and case reports in the literature, perioperative use of TEE in non-cardiac cases has significantly increased the past two decades. The utility of TEE in monitoring hemodynamic, and diagnosing causes of hypotension refractory to conventional therapy, have made it an almost indispensible tool during major surgeries, such liver transplantation. Despite this fact, compared to the adult population, there is a lack of an equivalent amount of literature on the perioperative use of TEE in pediatric cases. In our case we report the utilization of TEE during a pediatric liver transplant, to diagnose a post reperfusion suprahepatic anastomosis stricture. In this case, the cooperation of the anesthesia, the surgical, and the cardiology teams, helped in resolving the case, allowing a positive outcome for the patient. To our knowledge, this is the first case describing the use of TEE during a pediatric liver transplant.