Eversion endarteriectomy of the internal carotid artery.

Eversion endarteriectomy has been proposed as a reliable and rapid method for operating on an ulcerated or stenosed internal carotid artery. The surgical technique is presented in detail. The perioperative course is appraised in a series of 60 operations. Irrespective of age and other diseases in the patients and the preoperative state of the ipsilateral and contralateral vessels, a perioperative morbidity of 1.6% (a temporary neurological deficit) and no lethal outcomes were found. Indication for operation on the carotid artery depends on the spontaneous prognosis based on the vascular morphology and the rate of perioperative complications. The method of surgery described establishes favorable conditions for endarteriectomy even in the asymptomatic stage as well as in exulcerative lesions of the carotid wall.