Carotid endarterectomy and ocular complaints.

The value of a carotid endarterectomy in patients with ocular symptoms such as amaurosis fugax, scotoma, loss of visual acuity or diplopia is considered from an ophthalmological point of view. The concurrent fundus lesions are discussed and the ocular results of two different groups of patients are presented. A first group of 12 patients underwent an endarterectomy for their specific ocular complaints, while a second group of 15 patients with ocular symptoms associated with carotid lesions were treated conservatively. The usefulness of the retro-ocular doppler sonography in the vascular check-up is stressed. A good visual prognosis after carotid endarterectomy can be predicted when the blood velocity in the ophthalmic artery is 0.2 to 0.4 m/sec.