[Vascular surgery preventing ischemic stroke: is it possible?]

Experience with 1057 surgeries performed in patients with carotid stenosis is analyzed. It is demonstrated that for the last 10 years angiography has not been performed for diagnosis confirmation, indications for surgery are based on duplex scanning results. Thirty-five percent of operated patients had no clinical symptoms, but the majority of the patients (44%) were referred to surgeons late, after stroke. Techniques of classic and eversion endarterectomies are described in details. Postoperative lethality ranged from 0.9 to 1.2%, rate of postoperative stroke--from 1.1 to 1.4%. Long-term results were studied up to 196 months after surgery. High prophylactic efficacy of carotid endarterectomy was demonstrated. There were no progression of ipsilateral neurological symptoms in 94.3% patients.