Perioperative acute internal carotid thrombosis after general surgery

The average incidence of perioperative stroke during major non-cardiac surgery is less than 1%, suggesting that it is rarely a major problem for the vast majority of patients.

In our paper we present a 46-year-old patient undergoing acute right hemicolectomy who developed right-sided hemiparesis in the perioperative setting. Immediate CTAg examination showed an ischemic stroke in the left hemisphere as a result of left internal carotid thrombosis. A surgical procedure to recanalize the left carotid artery was performed 14 hours from the onset of neurological symptomatology and the neurological deficit gradually recovered fully.

Our case report supports studies showing that a thorough diagnostic assessment allows the selection of patients who may benefit from urgent revascularization of acute internal carotid occlusion during the phase of acute brain ischemia.