Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? I had the Watchman put in by Dr. Natale in April and had my first TEE with him in July. Everything is going great but I'm supposed to have my second TEE (the 6th month checkup) in late October/early November. I'd like to avoid having to travel to Austin, TX yet again, especially that time of year since we have a lot going on then so I'm considering doing it locally. How hard is it to have these TEE's done locally? I know Dr. Natale is picky about the images, but if you find someone locally that has a lot of experience doing TEE's after Watchman implants, I have to believe they'll take the specific images Dr. Natale needs to see so it shouldn't be that hard, or am I off base on this? I'm just trying to figure out if having the next TEE locally is possible. I live in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul). If it's a pain in the butt then I suppose I'll suck it up and take another trip to Austin. Travis https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,191986#msg-191986 Sat, 27 Jun 2026 02:07:22 +0000 Phorum 5.2.23 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192425#msg-192425 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192425#msg-192425

So as far as I know,,he doesn’t perform routine tees at Robles- I speculated it is lack of time since he is only here Wednesday afternoons to Fridays and left Saturday mornings. Maybe he only concentrated on utilizing his time on ablations- I don’t know. I did try to schedule with him. The 9 month tee lasted 7 minutes from anesthesia to waking up.]]> susan.d AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 11 Sep 2023 22:05:18 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192360#msg-192360 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192360#msg-192360
Do you not remember? I answered this for you long ago and I had a very successful and detailed TEE in my hometown because there are many watchman providers here and they follow the watchman protocol for the TEE. As a matter fact, it was way more detailed than the reports I had an Austin. My only complaint was that they use more anesthesia than just proopofol and I didn’t know they would do that. It was sent to Doctor Natale hours after having it done and he read it and had no problems whatsoever with the report. I just had it 7/31/23.]]> Madeline AFIBBERS FORUM Thu, 07 Sep 2023 19:00:36 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192054#msg-192054 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192054#msg-192054 Mauricio AFIBBERS FORUM Thu, 17 Aug 2023 02:16:22 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192042#msg-192042 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192042#msg-192042 Carey AFIBBERS FORUM Tue, 15 Aug 2023 03:10:11 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192040#msg-192040 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192040#msg-192040
Travis

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Daisy
They told me in Austin that the TEE was better for seeing certain things and the CTA for others, but that it was best to get a TEE for the first check. I was told when I got my Watchman that, though I would need to come to Austin for the first TEE, I could get CTAs locally for the 6 month and 1 year check ups.
]]> tvanslooten AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 14 Aug 2023 23:45:03 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192039#msg-192039 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192039#msg-192039
Travis

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Carey
The advantage a TEE has is it shows motion. You can see heart wall movement in real time AND blood flow because it's a doppler device. So that allows them to see volume, velocity, and turbulence of blood flowing through the heart. That's particularly important at the first TEE when they're especially concerned with finding any leaks.
]]> tvanslooten AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 14 Aug 2023 23:29:21 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192038#msg-192038 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192038#msg-192038 Carey AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 14 Aug 2023 22:40:58 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192034#msg-192034 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192034#msg-192034 Daisy AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 14 Aug 2023 17:25:55 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192033#msg-192033 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192033#msg-192033
I'm a bit nervous because my local EP's team wasn't terribly familiar with this approach. They do TEEs as a follow up to Watchman devices and don't normally do CTA Chest scans with contrast dye. There was a lot of back and forth to ensure everyone was on the same page and that they (my local EP's team) were scheduling the appropriate procedure. They didn't say this specifically, but I got the sense that they thought it was "strange" to do a CTA chest scan in lieu of a TEE, but they went along with it since it's coming from Dr. Natale.

What I wonder about is if these CTA chest scans are preferred over TEEs when these check ups are done outside of Austin, TX, why don't they just tell us that out of the gate? I think they should tell you that your first checkup will be a TEE in Austin and then the subsequent check ups can be done locally with CTA chest scans.

And it also begs the question, why doesn't Dr. Natale's team just do CTA chest scans for all Watchman follow ups? Why even bother with the TEE? The CTA chest scan sounds like a piece of cake. They told me I just had to show up 15 minutes before the scan. They'll hook me up to an IV for the contrast dye and then x-ray me, which takes just a few minutes. Then I'm done! There's no sedation, recovery, etc. Seems to me they should just do CTA chest scans for everything and skip the TEE's all together...unless I'm missing something.

At any rate, my local CTA chest scan is scheduled for late October. I'll be sure to post my experience here in the forum when it's done.

Travis]]> tvanslooten AFIBBERS FORUM Mon, 14 Aug 2023 16:59:24 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192000#msg-192000 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,192000#msg-192000 Poppino AFIBBERS FORUM Thu, 10 Aug 2023 13:55:56 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,191995#msg-191995 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,191995#msg-191995
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Carey
Talk to Natale's office. It's possible they can recommend someone in your area, and if not I believe he's accepting CTAs now in lieu of a TEE and those can be done almost anywhere.

Yep, he recommended a CTA for me he doesn’t know any cardiologist in my city and he has received a lot of poorly done TEEs that had to be redone in Austin.]]> Daisy AFIBBERS FORUM Wed, 09 Aug 2023 23:10:08 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,191989#msg-191989 Re: Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,191989#msg-191989 Carey AFIBBERS FORUM Wed, 09 Aug 2023 20:59:58 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,191986#msg-191986 Is it Really That Hard to Have a "Local TEE" Done (vs. Dr. Natale)? https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,191986,191986#msg-191986
I'd like to avoid having to travel to Austin, TX yet again, especially that time of year since we have a lot going on then so I'm considering doing it locally.

How hard is it to have these TEE's done locally? I know Dr. Natale is picky about the images, but if you find someone locally that has a lot of experience doing TEE's after Watchman implants, I have to believe they'll take the specific images Dr. Natale needs to see so it shouldn't be that hard, or am I off base on this?

I'm just trying to figure out if having the next TEE locally is possible. I live in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul). If it's a pain in the butt then I suppose I'll suck it up and take another trip to Austin.

Travis]]> tvanslooten AFIBBERS FORUM Wed, 09 Aug 2023 20:02:31 +0000