[Endovascular therapy of stenotic cerebral arteries].

Endovascular surgery has dramatically changed the possibilities for treatment of occlusive arterial diseases. The first reports on balloon dilatation of internal carotid artery stenosis appeared 20 years ago. Between January 1997 and June 2002 37 patients were treated at our institution and 41 carotid angioplasties were performed. The first group includes the patients who were not indicated for conventional surgical treatment (vertebral artery 6 patients, intracranial stenosis of internal carotid artery 2 patients and one patient with stenosis of midle part of basilar artery). The second group were the patients with extracranial internal carotid stenosis combined with contralateral carotid occlusion (13 patients). The third group were the patients with restenosis following surgical carotid endarterectomy (11 patients). One patient had fibromuscular dysplastic stenosis. Seven patients were contraindicated for conventional surgical endarterectomy either for cardiopulmonary or other reasons. The result of the treatment by angioplasty was excellent because only three patients had restenosis (7,5%). Mortality rate in our set was 0. Nowadays it is too early to say if outcomes and safety of carotid angioplasty are comparable with surgical endarterectomy. For this reason it is necessary to have many randomized studies.