Recurrent carotid stenosis: operative strategy and late results

From 1957 to 1985, 116 consecutive operations for recurrent carotid stenosis were performed in 99 patients at the University of California, San Francisco. Ninety-four patients underwent 103 reoperations for primary recurrent stenosis (nine patients had bilateral repairs). Seventy-two operations (70%) were performed to relieve cerebrovascular symptoms whereas the indication for 31 operations (30%) was high-grade stenosis. The cause of primary recurrent stenosis was myointimal hyperplasia (MIH) in 47 cases, whereas 56 were caused by recurrent atherosclerosis (ASO). Secondary recurrent stenosis developed in six patients from our own series (5.8%) and an additional six patients were referred after reoperation elsewhere. The 12 lesions in this group were evenly divided between MIH (six) and recurrent ASO (six). MIH resulted in a single tertiary recurrent stenosis. Myointimectomy or repeat endarterectomy and vein patch angioplasty were the most commonly used techniques for repair of a primary recurrent stenosis. Secondary recurrent stenosis necessitated resection of the carotid bifurcation and graft interposition when caused by MIH. Secondary recurrent stenosis caused by ASO could be treated by repeat endarterectomy and vein patch angioplasty in five of six cases. Five strokes occurred in the entire series (4.3%), resulting in two deaths. There were 23 cranial nerve palsies, which rarely persisted beyond 3 months. The morbidity and mortality rates for primary and secondary carotid reoperation are comparable to the original procedure and should not deter the vascular surgeon from reoperative carotid reconstruction whenever indicated.