Management of concomitant occlusive disease of coronary and carotid arteries using cardiopulmonary bypass for both procedures.

The incidence of neurological complications following operative treatment of concomitant occlusive disease of coronary and carotid arteries has been reported to be between 0.7 and 18 per cent by different preoperative screening methods and surgical strategy. From the opening of our institution in November 1984 until March 1988 5443 open-heart procedures were performed. In 116 patients of 3540 consecutive coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) candidates simultaneous carotid endarterectomy (TEA) was carried out because of hemodynamically relevant stenosis of one or both carotid arteries; 50 patients were neurologically symptomatic with TIA's and amaurosis fugax preoperatively. Sixty of 66 patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis had either a morphologically severe stenosis of the carotid artery or multifocal occlusive disease of the extracranial supraaortic arteries. Prior to carotid-TEA cardiopulmonary bypass was inserted with mild hypothermia maintaining a beating heart for pulsatile body perfusion. An intraluminal shunt was only used in patients with bilateral carotid stenosis. Intraoperative EEG-monitoring was carried out to detect cerebrovascular insufficiency. In 108/116 patients no neurological complications were observed, but 6/116 patients had transient minor neurological symptoms. Two of 116 patients sustained a severe neurological deficit with hemiplegia and one of them died on the 21st postoperative day. Based on these data we conclude that patients requiring carotid TEA and CABG should be operated upon simultaneously using cardiopulmonary bypass for both procedures.