Carotid Endarterectomy: Review of 276 Cases in a Community Hospital

Abstract
Carotid endarterectomies (276) performed on 232 patients in a community hospital were reviewed. All the surgery was performed in a routine manner using systemic heparinization and an indwelling shunt. There were 3 deaths giving a mortality of 1.08%. A transient neurological deficit occurred in 7 patients; all cleared within 7 days (2.5%). Only 1 patient had a permanent deficit. Long-term follow-up from 6 mo. to 9 yr showed that the majority of deaths occurred from myocardial disease and malignancies. Only 8 patients died from stroke.