What can be seen during a TEE test

[Jeannemac]

My husband had a TEE test and the dr. said they saw something but didn't know what it was.  Months later he was diagnosed with lung cancer in the bronchial.  Could what they saw during the TEE have been the tumor?  It seems such a coincidence that they saw something and didn't know what it was and shortly thereafter they found the cancer..

[kenkeith]

I'm not sure I understand the connection with a TEE and pulmonary anomaly.
But what fits with you information is an artifact. In medical imaging, artifacts are misrepresentations of tissue structures seen in medical images produced by modalities such as Ultrasonography, X-ray Computed Tomography, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. These artifacts may be caused by a variety of phenomena such as the underlying physics of the energy-tissue interaction (ie. Ultrasound-air), data acquisition errors (such as patient motion), or a reconstruction algorithm's inability to represent the anatomy. Physicians sometimes learn to recognize these artifacts to avoid mistaking them for actual pathology.

Artifacts occur frequently during TEE. An understanding of why they occur and the features that distinguish them from true abnormalities should enhance the diagnostic accuracy of transesophageal echocardiography for aortic disease.

[Jeannemac]

My husband had the TEE test done prior to having his galbladder removed because he had artificial heart valves.  They did not do this test looking for a lung problem.   I was told  by a doctor that this could have been the very beginning of the tumor but the TEE would never be used looking for a problem but more than likely he felt it was the tumor.  What else would it have been?  They said they saw something but didn't know what it was.

[kenkeith]

Sorry to hear of your husband's dx of cancer.

A TEE is almost always used to view an obscure location of the heart.  Was your husband given a TEE? If so there would not be any association with a pulmonary disorder.

Bronchoscopy is a procedure where a pulmonologist takes a small flexible scope and looks into your lungs. It can be done in the office with mild sedation. The conventional bronchoscope looks at the anatomy in your airway, and can tell if there is a mass or abnormal tissue in the airway. It can take biopsies and other samples to help diagnose certain conditions. In persons who have severe lung disease, the scope can help get harmful secretions out of the lung.

My treating hospital has fluorescence bronchoscopy that can detect tissue abnormalities. The scope that looks at the airway and from the different light early abnormalities in the airway, not yet seen by the naked eye. These abnormal cells absorb this fluorescent light differently than the normal airway tissue. Some precancer lesions may be detected earlier.

Ultrasound bronchoscopy is a small ultrasound at the end of a bronchoscope. The traditional bronchoscope sees lesions in the airway, but cannot detect if these lesions are just on the surface of the airway, or if they extend deep into the lung. But the ultrasound can be placed on the lesion and can given an idea how deep the lesions extends into the lung.

Does this information help you to distinquish the procedure performed.  Yes, all procedures would be able to see a tumor.

Thanks for sharing, and if you have any followup questions you are welcome to respnd.  Take care.

[ed34]

They should confirm it with an mri or cat scan. A TEE is basically an echo scan which is taken from inside the body rather than through the skin. Without a biopsy, nobody can give a true diagnosis. What they should do is pass special instruments down the bronchal and take a small sample for Lab analysis. This will determine the tissue type and how fast it grows, and give guidance for the best type of treatment. The sooner they move on this, the better.