Advantages of Selective Use of Intraluminal Shunt in Carotid Endarterectomy: A Study of 122 Cases.

To assess the advantage of selective use of shunt in carotid endarterectomy (CEA) under local anesthesia. A total of 122 consecutive patients fulfilling international guidelines were included. Shunt was used selectively only in cases of bilateral severe carotid artery occlusive disease or in those patients who developed neurological symptoms on clamping of carotid artery. Follow up was done weekly for one month; then every month for 3 months; and then every 3 months for a year. Shunt was used only in 5% (n = 6) patients. Of these, 2.5% (n = 3) patients were those who developed neurological symptoms on clamping the internal carotid and deployment of shunt resulted in complete resolution of symptoms. 2.5% (n = 3) had severe bilateral carotid stenosis and shunt was deployed. One of these patients developed stroke which was permanent. There was no mortality. The mean procedure time was 170 min in patients in whom shunt was used, when compared with 100 min in patients without shunt (P = 0.003). Use of shunt in carotid endarterectomy under local anesthesia as selective policy has an advantage in terms of cost effectiveness, operation time and prevention of potential complications.