This type of echocardiography is done by putting echo probe through the mouth into food pipe (esophagus). This will give a clearer picture of cardiac problems. In children, most common indication for doing TEE is to clearly define a hole in heart that is known as atrial septal defect (ASD).

By properly defining ASD, we can plan either Device closure of ASD (angiographically; without surgery) or surgical closure of ASD. Other indications of doing TEE in children are to diagnose all cardiac valve anatomy and its functional assessment.

In children, sedation is needed in the form of IV medicines.