Placing a saline bag underneath the heart enhances transgastric transesophageal echocardiographic imaging during cardiac displacement for off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery.

Objective: The authors hypothesized that placing a saline bag (saline-filled surgical glove) underneath a displaced heart would improve ultrasound transmission for transgastric (TG) imaging and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to visualize left ventricular regional wall motion (LV-RWM) during cardiac displacement for off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: Tertiary University Hospital.