INTRAOPERATIVE H R ECHOGRAPHY FOR CAROTID SURGERY/

Background. Intraoperative duplex examination can be used during carot id surgery to identify small technical defects (like anastomotic steno sis, intimal flaps or subintimal wall dissections) that cannot be easi ly found by palpatory manoeuvres. The objective of this clinical study is to correlate intraoperative duplex findings with early postoperati ve complications and with duplex data obtained during follow-up. Metho ds. From January 1993 to January 1996 we compared early and late posto perative complications that occurred after carotid surgery in two grou ps of patients: a group of 120 patients undergone intraoperative duple x compared with a group of 100 patients not undergone intraoperative u ltrasound. Results. The percentages of early and late postoperative co mplications which occurred in the first group were respectively 7.5% a nd 4.2% contrary to 10% and 7% occurred in the control group. Conclusi ons. Duplex constitutes a selective intraoperative method for carotid surgery, easy to use, enable to identify and immediately correct techn ical defects.