高位頸動脈狭窄病変に対する頸動脈血栓内膜剥離術の問題点と手術手技  [in Japanese] Surgical Technique of Carotid Endarterectomy for Patients with High Cervical Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis  [in Japanese]

We retrospectively examined both the incidence of newly detected hyperintense areas using diffusion-weighted MR images (DWI-HIA) and postoperative complications after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for patients with high cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis. Among 39 patients who underwent CEA between January 2001 and October 2006, 10 showed high cervical ICA stenosis on the preoperative carotid angiogram. CEA was successfully performed on 9 patients with oral intubation and 1 patient with nasal intubation under general anesthesia. Transient hypoglossal nerve palsy was seen in 1 patient and wound hematoma in 1 patient. Mortality and morbidity were zero at 1 month after CEA. In 3 of 10 patients (30%), asymptomatic small DWI-HIAs were detected postoperatively. Gentle manipulation of the internal carotid artery is essential for high cervical carotid artery stenosis to prevent embolic complication after CEA.