Carotid endarterectomy: results using regional anesthesia.

One hundred and sixty-five carotid endarterectomies performed using regional anesthesia are reviewed. Simple neurologic monitoring of an awake patient enables accurate determination of whether the patient requires an internal carotid artery shunt. Shunts were used in only 10 per cent of cases. Low stroke (3.6) and low mortality (1.2) rates support the safety of this technique.