Middle cerebral artery flow velocity and cerebral oxygenation during abdominal aortic surgery.

Cerebral perfusion was evaluated in twelve patients undergoing elective infra-renal abdominal aortic aneurysmectomy by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography-determined middle cerebral artery mean flow velocity, near-infrared spectroscopy-assessed cerebral oxygen saturation and systemic haemodynamic variables. The middle cerebral artery mean flow velocity and cerebral oxygen saturation decreased during cross-clamping of the aorta, and both increased upon declamping of the aorta with the oxygen saturation change lagging behind the change in the flow velocity. The changes in cerebral flow velocity and oxygen saturation paralleled the deviations in cardiac output and end-tidal carbon dioxide tension.