Early carotid endarterectomy after a nondisabling stroke: a prospective study

On the recommendation of several studies, carotid endarterectomy (CEA) should be delayed for at least 6 weeks in patients suffering an acute nondisabling stroke. Our objective was to determine if these patients could be safely operated on earlier, thus decreasing the risk of a recurrent stroke prior to surgery. This prospective study, carried out from January 1990 to December 1997, included 72 consecutive patients having a nondisabling hemispheric stroke with severe ipsilateral carotid stenosis (NASCET 70-99%). All patients underwent CEA within 15 days of stroke onset. Patients were considered to have a nondisabling hemispheric stroke if (1) symptoms of hemispheric ischemia persisted longer than 24 hr and (2) the resulting deficit caused no major impairment in their everyday activities. All patients were examined by a neurologist prior to carotid angiography and contrast CT scan. Hemorrhage seen on the initial CT scan eliminated the patient from the study. If the CT scan with contrast injection was negative, patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging. CEA was performed under general anesthesia with intraluminal shunting. All patients had a postoperative duplex scan and yearly follow-up by a neurologist and a surgeon, with a duplex scan of the carotid arteries. Mean follow-up was 53 months. Our study shows that CEA can be performed relatively safely within 15 days following an acute nondisabling stroke. The arbitrary 6-week delay for CEA may unnecessarily expose patients with high-grade stenosis to a recurrent stroke, which could be prevented by earlier surgery.