[Surgical management of coronary heart disease and simultaneous carotid artery stenosis].

Simultaneous carotid endarterectomy and open-heart procedures (bypass, aortic and mitral valve replacement, arterial myxoma) were performed on 89 patients. The indication for carotid endarterectomy were either preoperative neurological symptoms (n = 36) or radiologically verified, hämodynamically relevant stenosis of more than 50-60% (n = 53). The postoperative course was uneventful in 80 patients (90%). Neurological complications occurred in 5 patients; 4 had required surgery for pre-operative neurological symptomatology and 1 of these patients died from postoperative stroke. Cardiac complications occurred in 4 patients, one of whom died because of bypass thrombosis with subsequent myocardial infarction. Many authors have different opinions regarding indication, technical procedures and optimum time of operation. We consider the simultaneous operative procedure of carotid endarterectomy and open heart procedures justified in view of the neurological complication rate of approximately 5% in our group of patients.