Abstract:Objective To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients with carotid stenosis, and to summarize the experience in intraoperative transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound monitoring.Methods A review was performed on the clinical data and intraoperative TCD monitoring data of 25 patients who underwent CEA.Results The mean age of the patients (23 males and 2 females) was 64±10 years. Among them, 11 patients (44%) had left carotid stenosis, 13 patients (52%) had right carotid stenosis, and 1 patient (4%) had bilateral carotid stenosis with more serious stenosis on the right side. All patients (except 3 patients who were not completely monitored due to probe dislocation during the surgery; by-pass technique was used for the three patients) were monitored through the process. The blood supply at the distal end of the carotid artery on the operative side could be identified based on the blood flow velocity of the middle cerebral artery monitored by TCD ultrasound during CEA, which could indicate whether by-pass operation was successful. Meanwhile, microemboli were monitored through the process. After the surgery, 1 patient (4%) had mild neurological deficits, 2 patients (8%) had delirium, and the remaining 22 patients (88%) had no newly emerging psychiatric or neurological symptoms.Conclusions CEA can effectively relieve carotid stenosis and resolve carotid vulnerable plaques and reduce the risk of stroke. TCD monitoring can provide assurance of surgical safety during CEA.