Carotid endarterectomy is the surgical procedure aimed at releasing occluded or partially restricted carotid arteries.
This dangerous pathological condition - also known as obstructive disease of the carotid arteries or stenosis of the carotid arteries - is established due to atherosclerosis and can be the cause of strokes or TIA ( transient ischemic attack ).
Despite the progress of vascular surgery, carotid endarterectomy is a practice that still has some risks; after all it is still a surgical procedure.
Possible complications include:
- Pain at the wound. It is temporary.
- Blood loss (hemorrhage) from the wound.
- Wound infection. It affects less than 1% of operated patients and is treated with antibiotics.
- Temporary damage to the nerves adjacent to the carotid artery. This could cause an alteration of the voice or a sense of numbness in some parts of the face or the tongue. It affects 4% of the people operated and resolves within a month.
- New narrowing of the operated carotid artery. Affects 2-4% of the people operated.
- Stroke. It affects 2% of people operated and is more frequent among those who have already suffered a stroke.
- Death. It occurs in less than 1% of cases.
WHO IS MORE AT RISK OF COMPLICATIONS
