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Purpose: To identify the chief pathological cause of extracranial cerebrovascular disease, which is atherosclerosis, we analyzed and compared the early and 6-month morbidity and mortality rates of patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS) for carotid artery stenosis. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively included patients who had undergone surgical endarterectomy and endovascular carotid stent implantation for carotid artery stenosis between April 2019 and August 2022. We evaluated neurological examinations, routine blood tests, neurological and systemic complications, mortality rates, and follow-up colour Doppler ultrasonography 6 months post-discharge. Results: The study included a total of 300 patients, with 52.7% (n = 158) undergoing CEA and 47.3% (n = 142) undergoing endovascular stent implantation (CAS). The patients’ average ages were 66±8 years in the CEA group and 70±7.4 years in the CAS group, suggesting that those undergoing CAS were generally older. Notably, there were significantly more instances of congestive heart failure and a history of cerebrovascular disease within the CAS group compared to the CEA group. However, no significant difference was observed in the rates of postprocedural complications. Furthermore, there were no cases of mortality reported in either group. Conclusion: The preferred method for treating severe carotid artery stenosis should be determined by considering patient characteristics and preferences, as well as the complication rates in the centre.
Özdoğru et al. (Tue,) studied this question.