Analysis of mitral valve morphology in dogs undergoing mitral valve repair with three-dimensional transesophageal

Introduction: Information about real-time three-dimensional (3D) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for the evaluation of canine mitral valve morphology is lacking in veterinary medicine. Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of 3D TEE for the evaluation of canine mitral valves and whether there was a difference in mitral valve morphology between American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) stages. Animals: Thirty-one dogs were evaluated, including nine dogs classified as ACVIM stage B2, 15 as stage C, and seven as stage D. Materials and methods: Three-dimensional TEE was performed after anesthetic induction for mitral valve surgery, and the 3D geometry of the mitral valve apparatus was measured. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient was good in both inter- and intraobserver analyses of the 3D measurements of mitral valve annulus geometry and excellent in both inter- and intraobserver analyses in the 3D measurements of mitral valve annular and leaflet sizes. Annulus height to commissural width ratio of stage D dogs showed significantly lower values than B2 dogs (B2: 14.2% [9.1-20.5%]; C: 10.6% [6.5-24.1%]; D: 9.5% [4.7-13.8%]). The aortic-mitral angle of stages C and D were significantly flatter than stage B2 (B2: 122.32 +/- 9.39; C: 133.66 +/- 8.43; D: 140.70 +/- 10.70). Conclusions: Real-time 3D echocardiography using TEE is a feasible method to evaluate the morphology of the mitral valve in dogs. The saddle shape of the mitral annulus and aortic-mitral angle were flatter in stage D. Further studies are required to understand the pathology of mitral valve disease in dogs. & ordf; 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.