Emergent Endovascular Intervention for Acute Neurological Deficits Post-Carotid Endarterectomy: A Single-Institutional Analysis and Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Objective: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a standard treatment for atherosclerotic carotid stenosis. Perioperative symptomatic restenosis or reocclusion of the carotid artery following CEA is a rare but serious complication that typically necessitates intervention. The efficacy and safety profile of emergent endovascular therapy (EVT) as an alternative to repeat CEA in the treatment of acute perioperative neurological decline remain unknown.

Methods: All patients undergoing CEA in the Department of Neurosurgery at a single comprehensive stroke center from 2015 to 2024 were reviewed. Patients who underwent EVT for acute perioperative neurological deficits were included in our series. A systematic literature review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify articles relevant to the endovascular management of acute neurological deficits following CEA.

Results: Four patients from our institutional cohort met the inclusion criteria. An additional 39 patients were identified from the literature review in 11 source articles, which yielded a total of 43 patients. CEA was performed for symptomatic lesions in 28 (28/32, 87.5%) patients. Abnormal angiographic findings were reported for all patients. Thrombus accumulation in or distal to the operated internal carotid artery (ICA) (26/43, 60.5%) and dissection flaps (15/43, 34.9%) were the most common findings. Five (11.6%) patients had tandem cervical ICA and intracranial occlusions, of which thrombectomy of the intracranial lesion was successfully performed on 3 patients. All patients except for 1 (42/43, 97.6%) underwent technically successful endovascular stenting. Following EVT, 76.7% (33/43) of patients had no persisting neurological deficits. Nine (20.9%) patients were found to have new cerebral infarcts on post-EVT imaging. In-hospital mortality was reported for 6 patients (14%), 4 of whom were found to have tandem cervical ICA and intracranial occlusions.

Conclusion: EVT is likely a technically viable alternative treatment for patients with perioperative acute neurologic deficits after CEA. However, most of the literature available comes from case series, thereby limiting the quality of evidence. Improved reporting of standard stroke outcome measures may help to inform the implementation of EVT and repeat CEA for acute ischemic symptoms after CEA.