Operative treatment of carotid artery occlusion. A follow-up study.

One hundred consecutive patients have been subjectes to 134 carotid artery reconstructive procedures. 81 patients had TIA syndrome, 2 had acutely progressing stroke and 17 had symptomless stenosis at the carotid artery bifurcation. In 121 instances a bifurcation endarterectomy was performed, in 6 cases the internal or common carotid artery was resected and reconstructed, in 5 cases allograft- and in 2 cases autologous vein was used for the reconstruction. An intraluminal shunt was used in 93 operations. Operative mortality occurred in 4 patients, one was a case of acutely progressing stroke. Late mortality occurred in 16 patients. A follow-up study was carried out in the remaining 80 patients. According to the patients' own judgement symptomatic relief was good in 52.5 %, satisfactory in 40 % and unchanged in 7.5 %.