Stroke Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Stroke, including details on treatment, recovery, rehabilitation, signs, symptoms.

Carotid endarterectomy after ischemic stroke--is there a justification for delayed surgery?

Rantner B, Pavelka M, Posch L, Schmidauer C, Fraedrich G

Department of Vascular Surgery, Medical University Innsbruck, Austria. barbara.rantner@uibk.ac.at

PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between outcome of carotid surgery and wait after ischemic stroke. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed data from patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy after ischemic stroke. We investigated the time interval between the event and endarterectomy in relation to surgical results and complications. RESULTS: Between January 2000 and December 2003, 104 patients were scheduled to undergo carotid endarterectomy after a recent stroke. Endarterectomy was performed within 6 h in seven patients (6.7%); within 4 weeks in 29 (27.9%); 4 weeks or more in 62 (59.6%) and six (5.8%) patients received no further therapy. Perioperative complications among patients treated within 4 weeks were 3.4% and were comparable to those treated after 4 weeks (4.8%). However, more than 12% of the patients awaiting operation experienced a new cerebrovascular event (ischemic stroke or carotid occlusion), most of them occurred in the 3rd or 4th week after the initial event. CONCLUSION: Our data indicates, that carotid endarterectomy can be performed with a comparable risk within a short delay after stroke. In addition severe cerebrovascular events occurring within the waiting period may be avoided.

Published 3 June 2005 in Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg, 30(1): 36-40.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Stroke Research Today. All Rights Reserved.