[Use of glomus-sparing techniques in surgery of carotid arteries]

The carotid glomus is an anatomical structure located in the bifurcation of the common carotid artery and consisting of chemo and baroreceptors. It is an important reflexogenic zone participating in provision of constancy of arterial pressure. Performing eversion carotid endarterectomy is accompanied by damage of the structures of the carotid glomus, which is followed by persistent arterial hypertension in the early postoperative period. This complication remains one of the unsolved tasks in surgery of carotid arteries. The article contains a review of the literature concerning the problem of the development of postoperative arterial hypertension in patients after carotid endarterectomy carried out with skeletization of the bifurcation of the common carotid artery and with damage to the structures of the carotid glomus. Many authors report a positive effect of surgical interventions performed with preservation of the carotid body. Further studies of the results of treatment by means of glomus-sparing techniques at a longer postoperative follow-up period are required.