What are the mortality and surgical stroke rates of carotid endarterectomy performed in a small community hospital?
Carotid endarterectomy can be performed in a small community hospital with acceptable mortality and stroke rates, potentially aided by routine internal shunt use.
Seventy-nine carotid endarterecto mies were performed for 65 patients in a 140-bed hospital in a predominantly rural community during a 5-year pe riod. The procedure's mortality was 3.8%, and the rate of surgical stroke was 3.8%. In a small community hospital where most assistants have relatively limited experience in vascular surgical procedure, it was felt advisable to use the internal shunt routinely.
Yong H. Park (Tue,) studied this question.