Carotid Artery Surgery

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Carotid Artery Surgery: Indications

The procedure may be used to treat symptoms of carotid artery blockage, such as:

• Weakness of the arm, leg, or face on one side of the body
• Inability to move the arm, leg, or face on one side of the body (paralysis)
• Numbness, tingling, or noticeable change in the sensation of the arm, leg, or face on one side of the body
• Difficulty swallowing
• Loss of all or part of vision (blindness) in one eye
• Slurred speech or inability to speak
• Dizziness (vertigo)
• Confusion, fainting, or coma
• Stroke with complete recovery (TIA)
• Severe blockage without any symptoms at all

Seek urgent medical attention if you experience these symptoms. The symptoms may be permanent, but even if they occur transiently and then get better by themselves (TIA, or transient ischemic attack), they still might be a sign of a serious problem.

Surgery should also be done in asymptomatic patients who have carotid artery blockages which cut off between 75-99% of blood flow through the carotid. Large studies have shown that even in patients with severe blockage and no symptoms at all, the risk of stroke is reduced with surgery.

If the blockage is complete (100%), surgery is not indicated.

X-ray studies using special dyes (carotid angiogram) can show the degree of blockage of the carotid arteries. Other studies that can visualize blockages in the carotid arteries are ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).