Nee Khoo explains how 3D pediatric TEE helps guide complex congenital surgeries

A quiet revolution is taking place in pediatric heart surgery. Across children’s hospitals, teams are increasingly turning to 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to plan, guide and assess complex congenital heart procedures in real time.

One of the leaders in that transformation is Nee Khoo, MBChB,  director of the echocardiography laboratory at Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton, Canada. Khoo has become one of the strongest advocates for integrating 3D echocardiography directly into the congenital operating room, a change he says is already improving surgical precision and communication between cardiologists and surgeons.

Due to the complex nature of congenital heart disease and the wide variation in unusual anatomy, real-time 3D echo imaging can help answer questions quickly and allow surgeons to see tissues from a surgeon's view, enabling better decision-making. The movement is similar to the integration of TEE echocardiographers in the cath lab to enable guidance and imaging assessments of structural heart procedures for interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons.

"I think this introduction of 3D TEE probes for pediatrics has really made a difference. We certainly think that the 3D echo technology, it's been a long time coming, but it's very, very rapid now and people are learning the skills required to use this technology effectively," Khoo explained.