DIAGNOSIS OF INTRACRANIAL OCCLUSIVE DISEASE BEFORE CAROTID ENDARTERECTOMY - PRELIMINARY EXPERIENCE WITH TRANSCRANIAL COLOR-FLOW DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY

Transcranial colour-coded Doppler ultrasonography allows both imaging and simultaneous haemodynamic investigation of the basal cerebral arte ries. Four of 16 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy were found to have intracerebral artery stenotic disease by use of this techniqu e. Discrete stenotic segments were recognized by their markedly raised blood flow velocities with damping of the spectral Doppler waveform d istally. Colour-coded transcranial Doppler ultrasonography used in con junction with extracranial duplex imaging might provide an effective a nd safe alternative to angiography.