[Carotid surgery in regional anesthesia--anesthesiological, neurological and surgical aspects]

Surgery of the carotid artery is justified only if it is performed with low complication rates. The essential advantages of regional anesthesia in comparison to general anesthesia are a secure neuromonitoring, hemodynamic stability and prolonged analgesia. Regional anesthesia for carotid surgery, which is described methodically in this paper, needs only a minor expenditure. Our own data show that patients with a contralateral occlusion of the internal carotid artery and patients with a high risk for surgery (ASA IV) are at a high risk for neurological events during carotid crossclamping. Consequences of regional anesthesia on the surgical procedure are to ignore. The question, whether economic advantages exist for regional anesthesia, cannot yet be answered.