CAROTID ANGIOPLASTY AND STENTING - REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Purpose. In order to assess;the current knowledge of carotid angioplas ty and stenting, we reviewed the pertinent literature distinguishing t wo types of reports on angioplasty for atherosclerotic stenosis of the internal carotid artery: case reports and series with less than 10 ca ses, and series reporting more than 10 cases. Methods. Each series was examined individually followed by a general analysis.Results. The 11 largest series in the literature included a total of 912 patients. The rate of transient ischemic attacks ranged from 6 to 14.8 %. Stroke ra te varied from 1.5 to 9.1 %. Restenosis was reported in 4 to 16 % of c ases. Conclusion. Based on the data available in the literature, we ca nnot recommend carotid angioplasty. Carotid endarterectomy is recognis ed as safe and is generally considered to be the gold standard. In ord er to assess carotid angioplasty and stenting accurately, prospective randomized studies comparing surgery and angioplasty are necessary.