Background
Ischemic stroke represents a major health problem and it is an important cause of long-term disability. The aim of this study was to compare short-term results of carotid endarterectomy and stenting without the use of cerebral protection device.
Patients and methods
During a 2-year period, we enrolled 40 patients with carotid artery stenosis and performed 18 carotid endarterectomy operations and 22 carotid artery stenting procedures without distal protection devices.
Results
Mortality was zero. The main postoperative results after endarterectomy were as follows: one patient developed hemorrhagic stroke and another one developed myocardial infarction. With carotid artery stenting, one patient developed minor stroke and two patients developed restenosis.
Conclusion
No superiority of certain procedure over the other was found. Proper patient selection is the key to successful outcomes when deciding the optimal treatment for carotid artery stenosis. Carotid stent placement without the use of distal protection devices was found to be a safe and effective procedure with a relatively low incidence of periprocedural complications.