Routine Shunting Is a Safe and Reliable Method of Cerebral Protection during Carotid Endarterectomy

The purpose of this report is to describe the perioperative and long-term outcomes of standard carotid endarterectomy (CEA) with general anesthesia, routine shunting, and patching and to show that routine shunting is a safe and reliable method of cerebral protection. Between January 1998 and December 2004, 700 patients attending our Department of Vascular Surgery underwent 786 CEAs performed using a standardized technique. Forty-four patients were excluded from the analysis because they underwent combined CEA and coronary artery bypass grafting, so the analysis is based on the results of 742 CEAs in 656 patients (86 bilateral CEAs). The strict surgical protocol included general anesthesia and standard carotid bifurcation endarterectomy with routine shunting (Javid’s shunt) and Dacron patching. The Javid shunts were easily inserted in 738 cases (99.4%) but could not be used in four cases (0.5%) because of the presence of a very small internal carotid artery. The mean ischemic time required to insert the shunt and complete the suture was 4.7 min (±1.15), and the mean time to perform the endarterectomy was 34.3 min (±6.7). The mean follow-up was 24.4 months (±17.3). Overall 30-day mortality was 0.1% (one patient) due to a contralateral major stroke. The 1-month perioperative neurological complication rate was 0.7%, with three major and two minor strokes. The cumulative stroke and death rate was 0.8%. Preoperative symptoms such as hypertension, contralateral occlusion, or an age of more than 80 years were not independent risk factors for perioperative stroke. In the long-term follow-up, Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated an estimated 5-year stroke-free rate of 98.0%. There were eight cases (1%) of >70% restenosis (four cases) or thrombosis (four cases) of the operated internal carotid artery during the follow-up in asymptomatic patients: in four cases, carotid stenting due to >70% restenosis led to good results. The Kaplan-Meier estimate of the restenosis-free rate was 97.8%. The combined stroke and mortality rate of 0.8%, and the restenosis rate of 1% support the argument that standard CEA performed with routine shunting as brain protection leads to excellent early and long-term results.